LIBRARY 

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University  of  California. 


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NOTES  OF  A  TOUR 


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xico  AND  California. 


BY 


J.  H.  BATES. 


PRINTED  FOR   PRIVATE    DISTRIBUTION. 


NEW    YORK : 
BURR     PRINTING     HOUSE 

1887. 


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mt^.  711,  ^.  ^^^2^' 


Copyright,  i88y, 
By    J.    H.    BATES, 


1 1 552;' 


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PREFACE. 


During  a  recent  excursion  with  my  family  in 
the  neighboring  Republic  of  Mexico,  in  Cali- 
fornia and  other  States  and  Territories  of  our 
own  country,  I  made  hasty  notes  from  day  to 
day  of  what  I  saw,  and  while  these  convey  an 
inadequate  idea  of  observations  whose  accuracy 
cannot  always  be  depended  on,  I  have  yet  ven- 
tured to  think  that  my  friends  and  acquaintances 
will  not  dislike  to  read  what  my  impressions 
were,  since  it  may  be  said,  truly  perhaps,  that 
if  any  one  will  describe  with  sincerity,  however 
imperfectly  it  may  be  done,  those  things  he  has 
himself  seen,  a  certain  interest  will  attach  to  the 
performance. 

With  this  feeling  I  have  made  a  little  book  of 
these  notes,  and  will  ask  those  to  whom  I  send 
a  copy  to  regard  it  as  a  souvenir  of  the  tour 
itself  and  of  my  cordial  memory  of  themselves 
as  well. 


J.  H.  Bates. 


Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  June,   1887. 


115525 


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PREFACE. 


During  a  recent  excursion  with  my  family  in 
the  neighboring  Republic  of  Mexico,  in  Cali- 
fornia and  other  States  and  Territories  of  our 
own  country,  I  made  hasty  notes  from  day  to 
day  of  what  I  saw,  and  while  these  convey  an 
inadequate  idea  of  observations  whose  accuracy 
cannot  always  be  depended  on,  I  have  yet  ven- 
tured to  think  that  my  friends  and  acquaintances 
will  not  dislike  to  read  what  my  impressions 
were,  since  it  may  be  said,  truly  perhaps,  that 
if  any  one  will  describe  with  sincerity,  however 
imperfectly  it  may  be  done,  those  things  he  has 
himself  seen,  a  certain  interest  will  attach  to  the 
performance. 

With  this  feeling  I  have  made  a  little  book  of 
these  notes,  and  will  ask  those  to  whom  I  send 
a  copy  to  regard  it  as  a  souvenir  of  the  tour 
itself  and  of  my  cordial  memory  of  themselves 
as  well. 


J.  H.  Bates. 


Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  June,   1887. 


I 


115525 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I.  PAGE 

En  route — An  ice  blockade— A  niagiiificent  fountain 
—Leave  for  Chattanooga,  Tenn.—A  high  iron 
bridge — Lookout  Mountain— National  Cemetery— 
Birmingham,  Ala. — Lake  View— Tuscaloosa,  Ala. 
— A  pleasant  ride — State  Lunatic  Asylum i 

CHAPTER   II. 

New  Orleans,  La.  — The  French  Quarter— The  Old 
French  Market— Galveston,  Tex.— San  Antonio, 
Tex. — The  Alamo — The  Rio  Grande  River — A  visit 
to  the  San  Philipe  Spring— The  Painted  Cave- 
El  Paso 8 

CHAPTER   III. 

A  description  of  Chihuahua,  Mex.— Entertained  by 
the  Governor  and  his  wife — The  Cathedral— The 
State  House—  The  Town  of  Lerdo 15 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Zacatecas  and  its  quaint  beauty — The  Mint — Soldiers 
and  beggars— Loafers'  paradise -The  village  of 
Guadalupe— Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe — 
— An  Orphan  Asylum— Cruelty  to  a7iimals 21 


CHAPTER   V. 

Aguas  Calientes—Its  baths —  We  experience  a  hot  day 
— A  dreary,  dicsty  ride — Meet  an  ice-cream  dealer — 
The  City  of  Leon— Old  customs— See  a  remarkable 
cactus — On  our  way  to  Silao 27 


vi  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   VI.  PAGE 

Arrive  at  Silao  —  Off  for  Marfil—A  description  of 
the  Valcncia7ia  Mine— Guanajuato— Its  historic 
interest — TJie  Alliondiga  Graneditas—What  we 
there  witnessed — Queretaro — Cerro  de  las  Cam- 
panas — Scene  of  Emperor  Maximilian' s  execution,     ^t'i 

CHAPTER   VII. 

We  reach  the  Mexico  Station  of  the  Central  Rail- 
road— Iturbide  Hotel — Paseo  de  la  Reforma — The 
Alameda,  or  principal  park— A  brilliant  eques- 
trian picture — The  National  Theatre  and  Sarah 
Bernhardt 41 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

We  visit  a  private  museum,  also  Chapultepec  and 
the  Monte  de  Piedad,  or  National  Pawn-shop — 
The  Cathedral — Its  grandeur  and  impressiveness 
— An  inspection  of  the  National  Museiwi  and  Acad- 
emy of  Fine  Arts— The  College  of  Medici7ie — The 
streets  and  houses  of  Mexico — How  tortilla,  the 
national  corn  food,  is  made 47 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Go  to  Guadalupe  by  tramcar — A  disappoint7nent — 
Legend  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe — The  sacred 
spring— ''  The  Chapel  of  the  Well''  and  ''The 
Chapel  of  the  Little  Hill"— A  description  of  the 
city  and  of  the  enormous  ditch  Tajo  de  Nochistongo.     60 

CHAPTER   X. 

We  attend  mass  at  the  Cathedral— The  "  Tree  of  the 
Dismal  Night'' — Toluca— Pulque  and  how  it  is 
made— Market-day  in  Toluca  — The  Ne7> ado  de  To- 
luca Motmtain — A  grajid  view  from  the  Castle  of 
Chapultepec  —  Famous  cypress  trees  —  A  magnifi- 
cent spring  of  water — Tacubaya  and  its  Observa- 
tory       67 


CONTENTS.  VU 

CHAPTER  XI.  p^r,E 
We  visit  the  Methodist  Church — Dine  at  the   Con- 
co7'dia   Restaurant —  Witness   a   bull-fight— A    de- 
scription of  the  repulsive  scenes  there  enacted 76 

CHAPTER   XII. 

A  ''Norther  '  and  its  result — A  ride   to    Apizaco — 

We  see  a  pretty  bit  of  scenery — San  Juan   Teoti- 

huacaii  a?id  its  two  ancicfit  pyramids — A  brilliant 

view  of  Ixtaccihuatl  and Popocatapetl — Puebla  and 

what  we  saw  there " 86 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

A  ride  to  Cholula  and  something  about  it  attd  its 
pyramid —  The  Franciscan  Monastery — Pleasant 
cogitations —  We  set  off  for  Tlascala  and  visit  its 
Governor — The  old  Church  of  San  Frajicisco — The 
descent  to  the  Tierras  Caliefttes  —  We  linger  at 
Orizaba  and  enjoy  its  nia7iy  beauties — Start  for 
Mexico  City -^  A  fine  view  of  the  Southern  Cross.  .     92 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Iturbide  Hotel  and  its  cheerlessness — A  chilly 
day — A  paragraph  about  the  bull-fight — A  visit  to 
the  Cathedral  and  a  description  of  its  interior  and 
its  devotees —  Take  leave  of  Mexico  with  a  few  re- 
marks on  its  past  and  present  governme^tt — A  ride 
through  many  places  of  interest 102 

CHAPTER   XV. 

We  pass  an  enjoyable  day  at  the  Hotel  Rayinond — 
Take  a  lofig  drive  to  the  Sunny  Slope  Winery — 
''Lucky  Baldwin'  atid  his  ranch — We  visit  Los 
Aiigeles  and  then  ride  to  "Kintieyloar,"'  the  resi- 
dence of  a  retired  New  York  cigarette-maker — 
Leave  for  'Frisco — Golden  Gate  Park — A  drive 
through  Chinatown 113 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

The  Cliff  House — Sea-lions  and  their  haunts — A  sight 
of  Chinatoiun  at  night — Its  streets,  its  shops,  and 


vill  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

the  character  of  its  inhabitants — The  opium  dens 
—  Go  to  a  Chiftese  theatre  and  witness  a  perform- 
ance, after  which  we  enter  a  foss-hoiise  and  7nake 
observations   121 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

Arrive  at  Monterey — Go  to  the  Hotel  del  Monte  and 
see  its  famous  park— Leave  for  Sajita  Crnz — The 
big  trees — A  good  climate  for  invalids — Napa,  and 
the  Napa  Soda  Springs  Hotel — The  charming  Napa 
Valley — A  ride  to  the  Geysers — We  describe  them 
— Somethiiig  about  Charley  Foss,  the  whip 131 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Bound  for  hofne — Stop  on  our  way  at  Sacramento, 
where  we  are  etitertained  by  the  city — Off  again, 
and  after  travellittg  through  miles  of  country  of 
varied  scenery,  change  at  Ogden,  and  enter  Salt 
Lake  City — Description  of  the  city,  and  a  few 
words  about  the  Mormons  and  their  peculiar  in-  « 
stitutions 141 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

A  beautiful  morniiig — Attend  service  in  the  Congre- 
gational Church — Liberty  of  speech  and  some  speci- 
mens— A  visit  to  the  Tabernacle —  We  describe  its 
services,  and  make  a  few  observations  oti  polygamy 
a7id  show  how  it  can  be  abolished 149 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Leave  Salt  Lake  City  for  Provo — Castle  Gate  and 
Cliffs — Pass  through  Gunnison  and  cross  the  Rocky 
Mountains —  View  the  wonders  of  the  Grand  Cafion 
of  the  Arkansas — Manitou  Springs — The  ''Gar dot 
of  the  Gods'' — The  grave  of  Helen  Hunt — Denver 
—  The  mining  regio7is — Meet  with  a  railroad  acci- 
dent— A  wait,  when  we  have  time  to  see  the  antics 
of  a  ''  bucking  br  one  Jio"' — Offagai?i — Nearing  home 
— Pleasant  cogitations—  Home  at  Last  158 


A  TOUR    IN  MEXICO  AND  CALIFORNIA. 


CHAPTER   1. 

En  r ante— An  ice  blockade — A  magnificent  foun- 
tain— Leave  for  Chattanooga,  Tenn. — A  high 
iron  bridge — Lookout  Mountain — National  Ceme- 
tery— Birmingham,  Ala. — Lake  Viezv — Tusca- 
loosa, Ala. — A  pleasant  ride — State  Lunatic 
Asylum, 

January  i\st,  1887.  — Left  Jersey  City  by  New 
York,  Lake  Erie  and  Western  Railroad  at  9 
A.M.,  to  join  a  Raymond  excursion  party  leav- 
ing Boston  at  2  P.M.  to-day  for  Mexico  and 
California.  My  party  consists  of  wife,  daughter 
Betty,  and  niece  Mary.  Day  clear  and  pleas- 
ant. No  snow  visible  until  beyond  Paterson, 
then  only  in  patches  for  miles  further.  x\t 
Lackawanna  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal 
is  carried  across  the  Delaware  River  from  the 
left  to  the  right  bank  in  an  aqueduct  bridge. 
Fifty  miles  further  up  found  the  river  ' '  gorged 
with  ice— said  to  be  the  worst  in  a  great  many 
years.  The  river  is  not  dammed  up  in  any  one 
place,  but  is  so  filled  with  floating  ice  for  a  long 


2  A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

way  that  the  mass  and  weight  of  it  impede  and 
delay  the  water  until  it  rises  and  spreads,  taking 
the  movable  ice  with  it  and  doing  much  damage 
for  a  wide  distance  on  both  banks.  A  poor  man 
at  one  point  was  moving  his  family  and  goods 
from  his  house  by  boat.  In  some  places  the 
current  had  quite  left  its  old  bed,  being  forced 
out  by  the  ice. 

Reached  Hornellsville  at  7  p.m.  in  a  snow- 
storm, and  passed  the  night  at  the  Osborn 
House. 

February  \st. — Raymond  train  took  us  up  at 
10. 30  A.M.,  being  an  hour  late.  At  Salamanca 
the  train  entered  on  the  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Ohio  Railroad,  now  a  part  of  the  sys- 
tem of  the  Erie.  Here  the  time  changes  from 
Eastern  to  Central,  one  hour  slower.  All 
through  the  oil  regions  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Jamestown,  Corry,  and  Meadville  are  thousands 
of  huge  tanks  for  storing  the  oil  for  the  pipe 
lines.  Passed  through  Akron,  O.,  in  the  even- 
ing, and  Sterling,  Mansfield,  Urbana,  Spring- 
held,  and  Dayton  during  the  night,  entering  at 
the  last-named  town  on  the  Cleveland,  Colum- 
bus, Cincinnati  and  IndianapoHs  Railroad,  a 
part  of  the  "  Bee  Line,"  and  reach  Cincinnati 
at  9  A.M. 

February  2d. — A  very  heavy  rain  with  thunder 
and  hghtning  all  through  the  day.     Good  rooms 


A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.  3 

at  the  Gibson  House.  Our  Raymond  tickets 
include  everything,  and  rooms  are  assigned  on 
reaching  a  hotel.  Drove  with  wife  to  a  dentist, 
and  on  the  way  admired,  not  for  the  first  time, 
the  fountain  presented  to  the  city  by  Mr.  Henry 
Probasco,  a  wealthy  citizen.  This  magnificent 
fountain,  among  the  finest  in  the  world,  consists 
mainly  of  a  colossal  female  of  bronze  nine  feet 
in  height,  standing  on  a  highly- wrought  bronze 
pedestal,  about  whose  base  is  spread  a  broad 
basin  of  Bavarian  porphyry.  The  figure  is 
majestic,  in  flowing  robes,  looking  down  from 
a  height  of  forty -three  feet,  with  an  expression 
of  sweet  benignity,  while  from  her  outstretched 
palms,  extended  as  in  the  act  of  blessing,  the 
water  falls  in  showery  mists.  It  would  not 
seem  easy  to  set  forth  the  beautiful  use  of  water 
in  a  more  charming  and  impressive  way  than  is 
here  done  by  Von  Kreling  of  Nuremberg,  son- 
in-law  oi  the  great  Kaulbach,  aided  by  Von 
Miller,  the  director  of  the  royal  bronze  foundry 
of  Bavaria  at  Munich,  where  the  parts  of  the 
fountain  were  cast  from  bronze  obtained  from 
cannon  bought  of  the  Danish  Government. 
The  cost  was  considerably  over  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  is  a  fine  instance  of  what 
a  public-spirited  citizen  can  do  to  beautify  his 
own  city.  What  a  magnificent  city  New  York 
would  be  if  only  a  not  large  part  of  her  greatly 


4  A  TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

rich  citizens  would  find  their  satisfaction  in  thus 
adorning  it  ;  and  if  one  is  emulous  of  an  honor- 
able name,  how  can  he  better  secure  it  than  by 
rearinir  in  everlastinsf  brass  a  monument  of  such 
beauty  and  utihty  to  all  classes  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  as  shall  bring  his  name  constantly  to 
their  lips  in  blessing  ? 

In  the  evening  had  a  doctor  to  Betty,  who 
was  sick  all  night  ;  but  able  to  resume  the  road 
in  the  morning. 

.  February  ^d. — Left  at  9  A.M.  for  Chattanooga 
by  the  Cincinnati  and  Southern  Division  of  the 
Queen  and  Crescent  Route.  One  hundred 
miles  out  crossed  the  Kentucky  River  on  an 
iron  bridge  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  feet 
above  the  water.  The  river  runs  through  a 
canon  of  almost  that  depth  cut  by  the  river 
through  strata  of  limestone  ;  often  the  alternate 
one  being  black  from  some  cause,  perhaps  tak- 
ing a  deeper  color  from  the  weather,  so  that 
these  long,  uniform  layers  of  alternate  black  and 
gray  are  strikingly  like  artificial  and  ornamental 
masonry.  Further  on  is  a  similar  bridge  one 
hundred  feet  above  the  Cumberland.  The  un- 
common rains  and  the  weight  of  our  train — 
seven  Pullman  cars  and  a  baggage  car — led  to 
caution  in  running,  so  that  we  did  not  reach 
Chattanooga  until  3  a.m.,  instead  of  11  p.m.,  the 
schedule  time. 


A  TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.  5 

February  ^th. — Lived  in  our  sleeping  and 
dining  cars  left  outside  of  station.  Rode  to 
top  of  Lookout  Mountain,  sixteen  hundred  feet 
above  the  Tennessee  River.  The  air  was  thick, 
but  clear  enough  to  show  that  the  view  is 
beautiful  and  grand.  There  has  been  much  rub- 
bish written  about  the  lighting  on  Lookout 
Mountain.  Hooker  Avas  sent  against  a  Confed- 
erate force  on  the  mountain  top  and  sides,  as  one 
of  the  incidental  movements  in  Grant's  strategy 
that  da}^  the  real  object  being  to  coax  Bragg 
to  send  troops  from  Missionary  Ridge.  This 
he  did,  and  Grant  moved  on  his  main  army  and 
defeated  it.  Any  one  can  see  that  no  sort  of 
military  movements  is  possible  on  the  upper 
half  of  the  mountain.  "  Hooker  among  the 
clouds,"  and  all  that,  was  a  good  deal  the  work 
of  the  glowing  war  correspondent  of  the  period. 

In  the  well-kept  National  Cemetery  here  lie 
buried  nearly  thirteen  thousand  slain  in  the  sev- 
eral battles  hereabout,  including  the  disastrous 
field  of  Chickamauga.  The  name  of  every 
Northern  State  appears  on  the  white  head- 
stones, that  of  Michigan  and  others  being  repeat- 
ed over  and  over. 

Left  for  Birmingham,  Ala.,  lo  P.M. 

February  5///. —Woke  at  7  A.M.  at  the  station 
in  Birmingham.  Rode,  at  the  invitation  of 
Major  W.  J.  Milnes,   Secretary  and  Treasurer 


6  A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

of  the  Ely  ton  Land  Co.,  on  train  drawn  by  a 
dummy-engine  to  Lake  View,  a  suburb  some 
three  miles  direct  from  the  centre  of  the  town, 
with  small  hills  and  ravines — a  pretty  enough 
region,  where  are  a  good  many  rather  fine  cot- 
tages and  some  agreeable  effects  of  landscape- 
gardening,  a  good  deal  of  it  being  the  work  of  the 
Elyton  Land  Co.,  a  concern  of  much  enterprise 
which  has  made  money  by  booming  real  estate 
here.  This  town  would  seem  to  have  a  bright 
future.  Certainly  it  now  appears  extremely 
prosperous.  It  has  come  on  in  less  than  ten 
years  from,  an  insignificant  hamlet  to  a  popula- 
tion of  thirty  thousand  or  more,  and  is  well 
built,  largely  of  brick  in  the  business  parts. 
The  interests  are  chiefly  iron  and  coal  in  prox- 
imity in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  in  great 
abundance — red  hematite  and  brow^n  ores — so 
that  it  is  claimed  that  even  now,  with  much 
that  is  crude  in  the  processes,  pig  iron  is  made 
at  about  two  thirds  the  cost  of  the  same  in 
Pennsylvania. 

Left  for  Tuscaloosa,  2  p!m.  An  arrangement 
had  been  made,  ostensibly  by  the  Mayor  of  the 
town,  to  give  the  entire  party  a  carriage-ride  and 
show  the  town,  and  let  the  world  know  that  it,  as 
well  as  other  points  in  the  South  now  waking  up 
and  getting  themselves  talked  about,  has  merits 
too,  and  a  future,  if  only  somebody  will  take  it 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.  / 

in  hand.  Probably  land-owners  and  speculators 
paid  the  cost  of  thirty  to  forty  of  the  most 
ancient  and  diseased  vehicles  now  extant.  'Twas 
a  kindly  deed  though,  whoev^er  did  it,  and 
we  enjoyed  a  ride  through  and  around  what  I 
should  judge  to  be  a  typical  Southern  inland 
town,  little  changed  from  ante-bellum  days,  un- 
less more  forlorn  and  decayed.  The  population 
is  said  to  be  thirty -five  hundred,  and  it  was  once 
the  capital  of  Alabama,  the  melancholy,  huge 
structure  wherein  the  wisdom  of  the  State  used  to 
assemble  being  converted  into  a  Baptist  school. 
It  is  ajso  the  seat  of  the  State  University,  whose 
students  are  called  cadets  and  wear  a  gray  uni- 
form. Here,  too,  is  the  State  Lunatic  Asylum, 
where  our  whole  party,  making  a  dismal  pro- 
cession, as  if  returning  from  the  funeral  of  some 
popular  judge  or  colonel,  were  ''  unloaded,"  as 
the  person  in  charge  expressed  it,  and  taken 
through  such  parts  of  the  commodious  and 
well-kept  building  as  Dr.  Bryce,  the  courteous 
physician  in  charge,  permitted.  Dr.  Bryce  is 
said  to  stand  high  in  his  specialty,  and  in- 
formed us  that  no  restraint  is  used  upon  the 
inmates. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Neiv  Orleans,  La.  —  The  Frefich  Quarter — The  Old 
French  Market — Galveston,  Tex. — San  Ayitonio, 
Tex.  —  The  Alamo — The  Rio  Grande  River — A 
visit  to  the  San  PJiilipe  Spring —  The  Painted 
Cave— El  Paso. 

February  6th. — Reached  New  Orleans,  eigh- 
teen hundred  and  forty-eight  miles  from  New 
York,  at  6  a.m.,  and  went  direct  to  the  St. 
Charles.  Found  letters  here.  Walked  at  length 
through  the  French  Quarter.  In  the  ev^ening 
heard  Dr.  Palmer,  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  preach — an  able  man  of  the  Old  School 
of  faith. 

February  yth. — Went  through  the  old  French 
Market.  Its  quaintness,  etc.,  about  which 
much  has  been  written,  is  greatly  overrated. 
The  buildings  are  a  series  of  commonplace 
sheds,  something  like  those  built  on  to  the  old 
Fulton  Market,  without  the  slightest  interest  in 
any  way.  Rode  in  the  afternoon  through  the 
best  parts  of  the  city.  The  impressions  I  formed 
two  years  ago  when  here  are  confirmed.  While 
there  are  a  good  many  fine  residences,  the  city, 
on   the  whole,  has  a  poor  look.      The    war   is 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.  9 

said  to  have  greatly  injured  it,  and  no  doubt  its 
relative  importance  was  once  greater  in  com- 
merce and  fashion  ;  but  the  population  as  a 
whole  would  seem  never  to  have  been  pros- 
perous. The  mercury  was  seventy  degrees  at 
2  P.M. 

This  makes  a  strong  contrast  with  Brooklyn — 
a  contrast  enhanced  by  the  rich  green  of  trees 
and  shrubs  along  the  best  streets,  where  pains 
have  been  taken  to  rear  them.  We  saw  no 
flowers  out  of  doors.  In  the  markets  saw 
nearly  all  the  fresh  vegetables  we  get  at  home 
in  the  summer,  cabbages,  onions,  beets,  toma- 
toes, squash,  potatoes,  and  some  others  not 
usual  with  us,  and  several  varieties  of  fish — the 
red-snapper  and  pompino,  of  which  I  ate,  being 
excellent. 

February  Zth. — Left  New  Orleans  for  the  City 
of  Mexico  at  11  a.m.,  by  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad's  Southern  route,  crossing  the  Missis- 
sippi by  ferr}^  to  Algiers.  Took  special  train 
made  up  for  the  Raymond  party  of  new  Pull- 
man cars  which  have  made  only  one  trip  before 
— that  to  California  and  return.  There  are  of 
the  Mexican  train  three  sleepers,  a  dining  and 
baggage  car.  Crossed  a  low,  rich,  alluvial  land 
growing  sugar-cane,  the  Bayou  Teche  region, 
including  New  Iberia,  specially  to  be  noted. 
Weather  warm,  not  less  than  seventy -five  de- 
2 


10        A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

grees,  and  sky  and  air  and  earth  summery. 
Heard  frogs  in  free  chorus  at  bed-time.  Woke 
at  Houston  in  the  vast  State  of  Texas,  within 
whose  borders  we  travel  nearly  a  thousand  miles. 

February  (^th. — Train  ran  down  to  Galveston 
for  five  hours,  then  returned  to  Houston  and 
the  direct  road.  Galveston  has  a  population  of 
say  thirty  thousand  ;  is  on  an  island  between 
Galveston  Ba}^  on  one  side  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  on  the  other.  The  railroad  bridge  on 
piles  over  the  bay  is  two  miles  long.  The  tow^n 
is  fairly  well  built  on  a  sand-bed,  slightly  above 
the  level  of  the  water,  so  that  rain-water  is  saved 
in  huge  tuns  as  in  New  Orleans,  is  busj^-looking, 
and  seems,  from  the  considerable  shipping  in 
the  harbor,  to  do  a  good  trade  by  water.  The 
beach  on  the  Gulf  side  is  of  firm,  fine  sand,  and 
forms  a  capital  driveway.  Vegetation  is  hard  to 
get,  as  the  site  of  the  city  is  only  deep,  fine 
sand.  Almost  the  only  growth  resembling  a 
tree  I  saw  is  the  completest  possible  caricature 
of  nature— a  distorted  trunk,  grotesque  and  dis- 
mal to  the  last  degree,  with  thwarted,  stunted 
branches  and  a  ridiculous  imitation  of  leafage, 
called  "  salt-water  cedar." 

February  \otJi. — Woke  near  San  Antonio. 
First  saw  cactus  growing  wild.  All  the  plant 
life  is  new  to  me.  The  grass — now  dry — is 
fine  and  thick.     The  mesquitc — between  a  shrub 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        II 

and  tree  in  size — chaparral,  sage-brush,  cat's- 
claw,  live-oak,  and  a  small  variety,  new  also  to 
me,  called  pin-oak,  were  all  the  vegetation  I 
saw  for  miles.  San  Antonio  is  an  old  town, 
has  lately  taken  a  start,  and  claims  thirty 
thousand  population.  I  should  think  this  a 
liberal  estimate.  Good  modern  business  and 
dwelling  houses  mix  with  small,  mean  adobe 
structures  and  others  built  of  a  very  friable  con- 
glomerate much  used  in  early  times  and  easily 
affected  even  by  the  comparatively  mild  weather 
here.  The  streets  are  narrow,  and  the  plaza, 
with  the  old  Alamo  on  it,  gives  a  foreign  air  to 
the  place.  It  was  in  this  structure  of  stone 
that,  in  the  struggle  for  Texan  independence, 
Santa  Ana  with  four  thousand  men  besieged  and 
cruelly  slaughtered  with  particulars  of  atrocity 
a  little  band  of  Texans,  one  hundred  and  forty- 
four  in  number,  including  Travis,  Bowie  (the 
inventor  of  the  Bowie-knife),  and  the  still  more 
famous  David  Crockett.  The  State  has  assumed 
charge"  of  this  building,  and  maintains  a  custo- 
dian in  it,  who  fights  over  again  the  battles  of 
both  sides,  with  many  incidents,  I  fear,  which 
never  occurred  to  the  participants.  At  the 
State  capital,  too,  is  a  monument  with  the  in- 
scription, "  Thermopylae  had  its  messenger  of 
defeat  ;  the  Alamo  had  none" — a  neat  way  of 
saying  that  all  were  destroyed. 


12        A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

Drove  three  miles  from  town  to  the  source 
of  River  San  Antonio,  here  about  the  size — 
somewhat  larger — than,  say,  the  Black  River  at 
Cavendish,  Vt.  It  begins  from  two  issues  of 
water  directly  from  the  ground,  some  half  mile 
apart,  and  nearly  equal  in  volume.  These  unite 
and  form  the  river,  which  is  thus  full-born  at 
once.  Drove,  after  dinner  at  Menger  House,  to 
the.  remains  of  the  Mission  Churches  of  La 
Concepcion  and  San  Juan,  four  miles  from  the 
city.  These  are,  say,  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
old,  and  were  originally  well  built,  but  by 
reason  of  the  softness  of  the  stone  used  are  in 
ruins.  There  is  a  pretty  tree  cultivated  on  the 
streets  called  "  china  berry,"  quite  new  tome. 
There  are  as  yet  no  signs  of  spring  here  in  the 
vegetation. 

Left  for  El  Paso  at  3  a.m.,  lying  at  the  station 
until  then. 

February  nth. — Woke  thirty  to  forty  miles 
from  Del  Rio  on  the  Rio  Grande,  separating 
the  United  States  from  Mexico.  Visited  a 
spring  called  San  Philipe,  which  pours  from  the 
ground  in  a  volume  equal  to  the  Black  River  at 
Plymouth  Pond,  Vt.,  transparent  and  pure  to 
look  and  taste,  much  finer  than  the  sources 
of  the  San  Antonio.  Followed  the  Rio  Grande 
up  for,  say,  fift}^  miles — a  muddy  yellow  stream 
of   about   the  volume   of    the    San  Antonio  at 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        1 3 

the  city  of  that  naaie,  flowing  through  deep 
cuts  of  limestone,  where  is  a  cavity  in  a  chff 
called  the  Painted  Cave,  reached  b}'  steeply 
climbing  some  thirty  feet  to  the  entrance. 
This  cavern  is  about  thirty  feet  high,  sixty 
wide,  and  seventy- five  deep.  High  up  on  the 
rear  wall  in  one  place  is  a  considerable  space 
picked  out  in  red  ochre  into  a  small  set  de- 
sign, not  unlike  some  of  those  seen  on  Indian 
dressed  buffalo-robes,  whence  its  name.  Just 
under  this  painted  bit  is  a  small  spring  of  dubi- 
ous water.  From  the  front  of  this  cavern  one 
can  look  across  the  river  to  the  smooth-cut, 
precipitous  layers  of  limestone,  so  level  and 
uniform  in  thickness  that  they  seem  like  the 
massive  masonr}^  of  man's  work,  extending  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach  up  and  down  the  Mexi- 
can side — a  stage  and  auditorium  fit  for  the  old 
gods  to  enact  a  play.  Just  beyond  we  crossed 
the  Pecos  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Rio  Grande. 
The  country  all  day  has  been  the  picture  of 
desolation.  The  mercury,  eighty  degrees  at 
2  P.M.,  under  the  influence  of  a  "  Norther," 
went  down  to  fifty-five  degrees  at  5  p.m. 

February  12th. — Woke  ninety  miles  from  El 
Paso,  where  the  train  lies  until  5  p.m.  Here 
baggage  is  examined  b}^  the  Mexican  customs, 
and  we  cross  the  Rio  Grande  into  ^Mexico. 
This  town,    twelve  hundred    miles   from    New 


14       A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

Orleans,  is  growing  rapidly,  and  has  come 
from  a  dull  Mexican  hamlet,  in  five  years,  to  a 
smart  city,  with  streets,  a  number  of  substantial 
brick  buildings,  and  a  growing  importance  from 
the  concentration  of  railroads  here,  Santa  Fe, 
Southern  Pacific,  and  Mexican  Central.  The 
country  over  which  we  have  passed  since  leav- 
ing San  Antonio  is  for  the  most  part  arid  and 
desolate.  Trueheart,  one  of  the  interpreters  of 
the  party,  born  in  San  Antonio,  and  quite  well  in- 
formed, states  that  the  soil  awa)^  from  the  river, 
which  we  followed  all  day  yesterday,  is  better, 
but  that  a  large  part  of  Texas  is  barren  for 
want  of  water — so  fatally  wanting.  Water  has 
to  be  carried  to  the  stations  away  from  the  river 
in  trains  made  on  purpose — huge,  rectangular 
boxes,  water-tight.  Stories  are  told  of  cattle 
coming  a  hundred-  miles  to  water,  and  dying  at 
a  terrible  rate  for  want  of  it. 

Left  El  Paso  at  7  p.m.  Saw  a  memorable 
sunset  from  El  Paso  del  Norte  on  the  Mexican 
side  of  the  Rio  Grande — the  sky  opaline  and  a 
rare  violet  tint  on  the  low,  serrated,  and  deso- 
late hills  at  the  west.  Our  Raymond  cars  were 
attached  to  the  regular  Mexican  Central  train 
to  Chihuahua,  thence  to^  have  their  own  engine 
to  the  City  of  Mexico,  distant  twelve  hundred 
and  twenty-five  miles  directly  south-east. 


CHAPTER    III. 

A  description  of  CJiiJmaJiua,  Mex. — Entertained  by 
the  Governor  and  his  zvife — The  Cathedral — 
TJie  State  Honse —  TJie  Tozun  of  Lerdo. 

February  i^th. — Woke  at  Chihuahua,  two 
hundred  and  twenty-four  miles  from  El  Paso, 
and  looked  down  to  the  west  from  the  train  on 
the  picture  of  a  town  and  surroundings  so 
utterly  unlike  anything  I  have  ever  seen  that, 
were  I  told  we  were  in  Palestine  or  Egypt,  all 
about  me  would  confirm  it.  In  the  midst  of  an 
arid  plain,  surrounded  by  low  scarped  ranges 
and  detached  swells  and  peaks  of  hills  all 
about,  lies  a  city  of,  say,  fifteen  thousand,  with 
narrow  streets,  houses  of  whitewashed  adobe, 
mostly  one-story  high,  with  moving  forms  of 
man,  woman,  and  beast,  unlike  anything  to 
which  we  are  accustomed.  The  Rio  Chubisca 
flows  through  it.  Little  donkeys  called  bnrros 
are  seen  everywhere  loaded  heavily  with  fire- 
wood of  mesquite\  cut  stove-length,  or  bundles  of 
wheat-straw  used  for  fodder,  and  various  other 
loads.  These  sturdy,  patient  little  beasts  seem 
to  be  the  universal  conveyance  here.  The  ^Nlexi- 
can  with  his  broad-brimmed  sombrero  and  manj^- 
hued  serape'y  and  the  woman  with  her  mantilla  or 


1 6       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

rebozo,  present,  in  the  atmosphere  and  back- 
ground here,  figures  exceedingly  picturesque. 
The  houses  are  low,  and  closely  shut  with  barred 
windows  on  the  street,  but  those  of  the  better 
sort  open  into  quite  spacious  courts  with  stone 
stairways  leading  up  to  a  balcony  running  all 
round,  on  which  open  the  doors  of  the  upper 
apartments  in  houses  of  more  than  one  story. 
We  called  on  the  Governor  of  this  State  of 
Chihuahua,  Felix  Francisco  Macaya,  a  banker, 
and  were  admitted  into  a  paved  court  through 
a  strong  double  door  opening  in  the  solid  wall 
directly  from  the  street.  In  the  centre  of  this 
court  were  some  growing  plants,  and  all 
about  doors  opening  into  various  apartments. 
The  Governor's  wife  received  us  with  great 
politeness,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  show 
us  through  some  rooms  used  as  sleeping- 
rooms,  etc.,  taking  us  for  that  purpose  through 
a  small  apartment  where  we  saw  a  number  of 
young  people,  sons  and  daughters  and  other 
relatives,  to  whom  we  were  introduced  ;  after 
which  she  led  the  w^ay  to  the  parlor,  followed 
by  all  the  family,  some  of  whom  at  once  went 
to  the  piano  and  sang  a  song  in  Spanish  to  an 
old  air.  There  was  a  harsh  burr  in  their  voices 
that  T  have  noticed  in  another  case  of  a  Mexican 
songstress.  On  retiring  we  all  shook  hands 
with  much  cordiality. 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO  AND   CALIFORNIA.        1/ 

Had  at  breakfast  in  our  dining-car  fruit  of  an 
oval  shape,  the  size  of  a  goose-egg,  with  rough, 
green  rind,  called  chirrimoya,  tasting  somewhat 
like  the  banana. 

The  Cathedral,  built  of  sandstone,  begun  in 
1737,  is  said  to  have  cost  eight  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  was  raised  by  a  special  tax 
of  one  real  (twelve  and  a  half  cents)  in  each 
eight  dollars  on  the  yield  of  the  Santa  Eulaha 
silver  mines  in  the  neighboring  mountains.  Mr. 
John  R.  Robinson,  w^ho  married  a  Miss  Taylor, 
of  Brooklyn,  is  now  the  owner  of  them.  Called 
on  him  in  the  evening.  He  says  the  mines  are 
over  two  hundred  years  old  and  had  vieMed 
when  he  took  them  about  three  hundred  million 
dollars.  In  the  plaza  is  a  handsome  fountain, 
and  after  dark  a  military  band  pla3'ed  there,  not 
very  well,  and  on  the  promenade  about  it  a 
good  part  of  the  people — common  enough  they 
are — walked  in  the  sufficient  light  of  the  par- 
affine  lamps  set  on  posts. 

Attended  church  in  the  morning  at  a  mission 
of  the  Congregational  Church,  under  the  au- 
spices of  the  Boston  Board,  in  charge  of  Rev. 
James  Eaton.  'Tis  the  old  story  of  missions. 
Although  all  things  favor,  there  are  but  thirty- 
four  members,  as  Mr.  Eaton  counts  them,  and 
those  of  the  humblest  and  poorest.  He  stated 
that  those  who   left  the  Catholic  faith   to  join 


1 8       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

him  sacrificed  their  means  of  living  and  be- 
came social  outcasts.  Siirel}'  those  who  lead 
these  or  any  other  people  to  desert  the  faith  of 
their  fathers,  when  the  consequences  are  so 
serious,  assume  a  grave  responsibility,  which 
only  the  fullest  belief  in  Calvinism  can  warrant 
any  one  in  undertaking.  These  converts  had 
before  been  baptized  into  a  faith  in  Christ  and 
were  professors  in  the  Catholic  Church.  It  is 
therefore  to  convert  them  to  a  different  body 
of  doctrine  that  these  missions  are  set  up. 

In  the  rear  of  the  State  House,  a  fine  building 
of  stone,  stands  a  monument  on  the  spot  where 
Miguel  Hidalgo,  curate  of  Dolores,  and  one  of 
his  companions,  Captain  Allende,  were  executed 
July  31st,  181 1.  He  was  the  brave  and  patriotic 
priest  who  in  1810  began  the  movement  for  lib- 
erating his  country  from  Spain,  and  his  name  is 
held  in  veneration  all  over  the  republic,  as  that 
of  Washington  is  with  us. 

February  14///. — Left  at  7  A.M.  for  Zacatecas, 
distant  four  hundred  and  seventeen  miles.  For 
two  hundred  miles  the  road  continues  through 
the  State  of  Chihuahua,  then  enters  North- 
western Durango,  then  later  on  South-western 
Coahuila.  The  whole  route  is  across  a  broad, 
level  plain,  with  mountain-ranges  always  in  sight 
on  either  hand.  These  have  local  names,  but  are 
really  continuations  of  the  great  ranges  of  the 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.        IQ 

Rock\-  and  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  forming 
the  backbone  of  the  northern  part  of  the  jNIexi- 
can  plateau,  and  flattened  down  as  it  were  into 
a  vast  plain,  beginning  in  New  Mexico  and  ex- 
tending down  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  leaving 
spurs  and  distinct  short  ranges  and  separate 
peaks,  often  of  fantastic  forms,  notched  and  in- 
cised to  a  degree  unknown  in  the  mountains  of 
our  Northern  States,  and  utterly  destitute  of 
vegetation.  Far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  except 
at  infrequent  intervals,  the  soil  is  parched, 
brown,  or  rather  gray,  and  devoid  of  other 
vegetation  than  the  unsightly  cacti,  with  here 
and  there  a  stunted  mesqiiite  tree,  or  rather 
shrub. 

After  nearly  three  hundred  miles  of  this 
sort  of  country,  we  reach  Lerdo,  a  town  in  the 
Laguna  section  or  the  Mapimi  Basin,  where 
is  the  inestimable  boon  of  water,  so  that  the 
water-trains  from  which  our  engine  has  been 
supplied  at  different  points  can  be  replenished. 
Here,  too,  is  a  region  of  considerable  extent, 
where  cotton,  sugar-cane,  corn,  and  wheat  are 
grown.  This  fertile  land  is  mostly  in  two  im- 
mense farms  called  haciendas,  owned  by  two 
Spaniards.  We  crossed  the  beds  of  no  less  than 
six  streams  of  importance  in  the  rainy  season, 
but  now  dr}'  as  a  bone.  The  most  important 
of  these  is  the  Nazas,  which  by  the  first  of  July 


20        A   TOUR   IX    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

will  be  filled  with  water  coming-,  it  is  said,  from 
mountains  three  hundred  miles  away.  Then, 
as  \vith  all  running  water  here,  this  will  be 
drawn  into  long  ditches  and  ponds  and  saved 
for  irrigating  the  fields.  Not  only  is  there  not 
a  navigable  river  in  all  the  vast  Mexican  plateau, 
but,  I  am  informed,  scarcely  one  which  does 
not  disappear  during  the  dry  season,  extending, 
as  a  rule,  through  nine  months  in  the  year. 
The  rain}^  season  begins  about  the  middle  of 
June  and  continues,  in  variable  quantities,  for  a 
period  of  about  ten  weeks  ;  then  follow  all  the 
rest  of  the  year  cloudless  skies  and  a  blazing 
sun. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Zacatecas  and  its  quaint  beauty — TJic  Mint —Sol- 
diers and  beggars — Loafers  paradise —  The  village 
of  Guadalupe — Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Guada- 
lupe—An  Orphan  Asylum— Cruelty  to  animals. 

February   15///.— Woke  at  Zacatecas,  eighty- 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  sea-level.     Said  to 
have  a  population  of  forty  thousand.     Went  up 
into  the  city  from  the  station  by  tramway.     The 
city  is  the  capital  of  the  State  of  the  same  name 
and  the  centre  of  one  of  the  richest  mining  dis- 
tricts in  the    republic.     It  is  crowded   in   the 
most  picturesque    way    into  a   narrow    ravine, 
and  has  had  the  title  of  a  city  since   1585.     The 
hills   all   about   are    honeycombed    with    silver 
mines  and  afford  magnificent  views.     I  did  not 
think  it  possible  that  anywhere  could  be    such 
absolute  strangeness  in  everything  as  here.    One 
might  be  in  the  remotest  part  of  the  East.     Our 
painters  go  to   Tangier  and  the  distant  Orient 
for   subjects.     Judging  from  what  they  bring 
back,  one  would  say  that  here  on  every  hand 
are  subjects   fully   equal— mellow,  quaint  bits, 
whole  streets  of  the  style  brought  into  Spain 
by  the  Moors,  filled    with  picturesque   figures, 


22       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

unique  beyond  expression.  In  the  midst  of  the 
plaza  is  a  fountain  with  a  huge  basin  of  stone, 
from  which  the  entire  population  carries  its 
drinking-water  in  earthen  jars  like  those  used 
in  the  East  three  thousand  years  ago. 

Called  at  the  Mint,  where  the  decimal  silver 
is  coining  ;  also  on  the  Bishop  of  Zacatecas, 
Jose  Maria  Refugio  Guerra  y  Alva,  whose  resi- 
dence, in  the  Moorish  style,  is  delightful,  with 
its  cool,  cheerful  court  of  stone,  on  which  opens 
the  balcony  running  all  around,  with  flowers 
in  pots  set  in  iron'  loops  fitted  into  its  railings. 
The  bishop  is  a  kindly  and  rather  intellectual- 
looking  man,  of  fine  presence,  who  received 
us  cordially  in  a  well-arranged  reception-room 
opening  from  a  large  library  of  many  books. 

The  Cathedral  did  not  much  interest  me. 
High  up  on  the  wall  on  one  side  is  a  niche  with 
a  little  penthouse  roof  over  it,  where  is  a  nearly 
life-size  image  of  the  Crucifixion  in  colors  now 
dull,  having  in  the  wounds  huge  artificial  roses. 
The  minutely  carved  front  is  a  combination  of 
Christian  and  Aztec  art. 

Close  beside  the  Cathedral  is  a  barracks  with 
many  soldiers  on  duty  or  lounging  about  in 
white  uniforms  ;  and  on  the  flagging  of  the 
little  plaza  in  front  huge  stone  seats,  where  a 
lot  of  sturdy  beggars,  in  the  most  picturesque 
of  parti-colored  rags,  sat  under  the  blazing  sun. 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        23 

in  dirt  and  dignity,  much  like  the  "  grav-back 
senators"  on  the  benches  in  front  of  the  New 
York  City  Hall.  I  noticed  that  a  number  of 
them  had  under  their  arms  a  stick  of  green 
sugar-cane  about  two  feet  long,  and  when  the 
great  Cathedral  clock  struck  noon  they  fell  to 
biting  and  sucking  these  for  luncheon. 

This  land  is  loafers'  paradise — little  clothing, 
little  food,  arid  less  shelter  being  needed.  The 
people  here,  beggars  and  all,  seem  to  have  good 
muscles,  healthy  flesh,  and  a  mildly  happy 
look,  as  if  the  scanty  supply  of  all  that  we  con- 
sider essential  to  comfort  quite  satisfied  them. 
The  water  supplying  the  only  fountain  of  drink- 
ing-water is  brought  a  mile  in  an  open  aqueduct 
of  stone,  arched  in  places.  The  well  or  spring 
furnishing  the  water  has  a  huge  wheel  revolv- 
ing in  it,  moved  by  mule-power,  on  the  rim 
of  which  are  little  tin  buckets.  These  empty 
themselves  into  the  aqueduct.  The  whole  is  of 
the  most  primitive  sort.  The  mules  were  feed- 
ing when  I  was  at  the  well,  and  the  wheel  at 
rest,  on  the  movement  of  which  depended  the 
very  hfe  of  forty  thousand  souls.  I  never  real- 
ized the  force  and  beauty  of  the  many  beautiful 
allusions  to  the  element  of  water  in  the  poetical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  as  here  in  this  arid 
land.  The  pressing  eagerness  with  which  the 
people,   young  and   old,  of  both  sexes  and  all 


24       A   TOUR   IX    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

conditions,  crowded  about  the  great  fountain  in 
the  plaza,  and  bent  over  the  brim,  dipping  up 
the  precious  fluid  into  all  sorts  of  vessels,  and 
hurr\'ing  away  as  if  in  the  little  adobe  houses 
life  or  death  was  depending  on  its  coming 
speedily,  is  exceedingly  interesting  to  one  from 
a  land  and  conditions  such  as  make  water,  so 
common  is  it,  almost  the  least  regarded  of  life's 
common  blessings. 

Lunched  in  our  dining-car  as  usual  ;  then 
took  tramway  to  the  village  of  Guadalupe,  five 
miles  distant  from  here.  Here  is  a  pleasant 
garden  set  with  oleanders,  acacias,  and  roses, 
whose  long  vines  are  twined  into  arbors.  Here 
is  a  costly  and  beautiful  chapel  to  Our  Lady  of 
Guadalupe,  the  patron  saint  of  Mexico,  erect- 
ed and  completed  three  years  ago  by  Seiiora 
Dominga  Marie  Miranda,  widow  of  Senor 
Miranda,  owner  of  the  San  Rafael  silver  mines. 
It  is  said  to  have  cost  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  which,  taking  into  account  the  cheap- 
ness of  the  principal  material  (the  sandstone  of 
the  walls)  and  the  low  price  of  labor  (fifty  cents 
per  day),  would  equal,  I  should  think,  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  in  the  States.  It  is 
of  small  size,  of  handsome  proportions,  and 
thickly  overlaid  with  gold-leaf,  covering,  I  think, 
not  less  than  one  quarter  of  the  entire  interior. 
The  dome  is  specially  rich  and  fine.     It  is  said 


\ 

A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.        25 

to  be  the  finest  church  in  Mexico,  and  our  inter- 
preters on  the  train  beheve  it  the  finest  in  the 
world.  It  adjoins  a  church  dedicated  also  to 
Our  Lady,  built  by  the  Jesuits  in  1721.  This 
is  a  rich  interior,  with  its  ceiling  of  carved 
arabesques.  Attached  to  the  church  is  an 
Orphan  Asylum,  the  most  important  charity  in 
Mexico,  founded  in  1875  by  General  Trinidad 
Gorcia  de  la  Cadena,  where  over  one  thousand 
orphans  are  maintained  and  educated  in  school 
and  in  the  trades.  We  heard  a  band  play  sev- 
eral airs,  all  the  performers  being  orphans,  and 
play  them  well. 

They  manufacture  here  the  striped  Mexican 
blanket  called  serape.  I  bought  one  for  two 
dollars  and  eighty  cents,  Mexican  money,  equal 
to  two  dollars  and  ten  cents  of  ours. 

The  cars  ran  down  from  Zacatecas  by  the 
force  of  gravity,  and  were  drawn  back  by  six 
mules,  harnessed  three  abreast,  and  belabored 
unmercifully  all  the  way  by  the  driver  and  an 
extra  man  who  seemed  there  on  purpose  to 
rest  the  driver,  who  had  two  heavy,  cruel  whips 
— one  long  lash  for  the  leaders  and  a  shorter 
for  the  wheelers.  These  he  changed  often, 
but  kept  one  or  the  other  going  on  the  poor 
beasts,  sometimes  passing  one  to  his  assistant 
when  he  wanted  to  make  a  special  burst  of 
speed.  The  usual  pace  was  a  gallop.  This 
3 


26        A   TOUR    IX    MEXICO   AXI)    CALIFORNIA. 

cruel  whipping  of  the  mules  seemed  to  make 
no  impression  upon  them  —  indeed,  it  seems 
to  be  a  part  of  their  regular  treatment,  and 
done  by  force  of  habit  ;  for  the  driver  kept 
mauling  the  mule  nearest  him,  without  the 
slightest  reference  to  his  work.  The  wanton 
cruelty  of  those  who  have  to  do  with  animals  in 
this  country  is  shocking.  These  car-drivers 
will  give  a  cruel  blow  to  a  donkey  standing 
idly  by  the  carway  ;  and  ours,  on  one  of  the 
trips,  struck  a  pig  in  mere  wantonness  such  a 
blow  as  stunned  the  poor  wretch  till  we  were 
out  of  reach. 

Mr.  Wells,  the  agent  of  Well^  &  Fargo  here, 
stated  that  they  ship  seven  million  dollars  a 
year  of  silver  from  this  point,  the  product  of 
the  mines  hereabouts.  One  owned  by  General 
Escabado,  the  Vita  Grande,  is  said  to  pay  two 
thousand  dollars  per  share  per  month. 

Returning  through  the  village,  a  confused 
blending  of  man}^  childish  voices  was  heard 
issuing  from  the  open  windows  of  a  low-roofed 
adobt^  house  fronting  the  street,  proceeding  as  w^e 
found  from  a  school  for  children,  all  the  pupils 
being  engaged  in  studying  their  lessons  aloud. 

Quaint  Zacatecas  !  It  does  not  seem  to  me 
that  I  shall  see  anything  here  or  in  another  land 
to  impress  me  so  much  as  I  have  been  impressed 
by  thee  in  my  inexperience  of  foreign  lands. 
Left  at  6  p.m. 


CHAPTER   V. 

Aguas  Calientes — Its  baths — We  experience  a  hot 
day — A  dreary,  dusty  ride — Meet  an  ice-cream 
dealer — The  City  of  Leon — Old  cnstonis — See  a 
remarkable  cactus — On  oitr  zuay  to  Silao. 

February  \6th. — Woke  at  /\guas  Calientes, 
seventy-five  miles  nearer  the  City  of  Mexico. 
This  city  is  said  to  have  a  population  of  twenty 
thousand,  and  is  fair  to  see  from  the  station. 
In  the-eveeis^\ve  went  to  the  baths  near  by, 
housed  in  a  large  enclosure  of  high  stone  walls. 
The  baths  are  on  two  sides  of  a  rectangle,  the 
larger  ones  opening  from  an  inner  wall  into 
an  anteroom  giving,  through  a  Moorish  arch, 
on  a  pool  of  pure  warm  water  open  to  the 
sky,  about  fourteen  by  twelve  feet,  and  four 
feet  deep.  The  walls  of  stone,  painted  in  dull 
red,  are  crenellated  at  the  top.  Such  baths, 
I  suppose,  as  the  Moors  introduced  into  Spain. 
The  water  comes  from  a  famous  hot  spring  a 
mile  away,  conveyed  by  an  earthen  pipe  under- 
grovmd,  and  by  the  time  it  gets  to  these  baths 
is  about  eighty  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  deli- 
cious to  the  feel.  The  waste  water  flows  awa}* 
to  irrigate  the  fields.     There  are,  in   fact,  two 


28       A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

of  these  springs  near  each  other,  one  being 
used  at  first  by  the  city  for  baths,  then  flowing 
a  long  way  in  an  open  ditch,  in  which  men, 
women,  and  children  were  bathing  together, 
some  quite  naked,  and  all  along  women  washing 
clothes. 

A  hot  day.  Mercury  eighty-nine  in  the  car 
at  4  P.M.  Ice  taken  on  the  train  here  from 
Popocatapetl,  in  pieces  six  inches  thick,  wrap- 
ped in  straw.  A  peripatetic  dealer  in  ice- 
cream appeared  with  a  tub  on  his  shoulder, 
the  cream  in  little  tin  tubes  three  inches  long 
and  one  inch  in  diameter.  Bought  one  of  these 
at  the  station  and  tasted.  Tasted  only,  and  then 
passed  it  to  a  delicate  Spanish  woman  with  two 
slender  children,  waiting  for  the  train,  and  re- 
ceived a  grateful  look  from  her  large,  dark, 
melancholy  eyes,  so  frequent  here.  The  vendor 
explained  that  his  ice — in  little  plates — was  got 
by  laying  a  leaf  of  the  maguey  on  the  ground  and 
pouring  a  thin  depth  of  water  on  it.  This  b}' 
evaporation  and  chill  of  the  night  air  he  insists 
forms  a  thin  coat  of  ice,  which  he  puts  away  in 
the  ground. 

All  went  to  the  plaza  in  the  town  in  the  even- 
ing, where  the  military  band  of  the  Seventh 
Cavalry  played  for  an  hour.  The  band  of  the 
Eighth  I  heard  at  the  Exposition  in  New  Or- 
leans, and  it  was  said  to  be  the  best,  but  I  was 


A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        29 

told  here  that  in  a  competition  the  Seventh  took 
the  medal.     I  should  not  approve  the  finding. 

February  lyf/i.—Left  Aguas  Calientes  at  5  A.M. 
lor  Leon,  one  hundred  and  five  miles  away. 
Thirty  miles  out  the  railroad  is  carried  over  the 
Rio  Encarnacion  on  a  fine  bridge  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  above  the  stream.  Thirty-nine 
miles  further  on  is  Lagos,  a  town  of  thirteen 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  one  of  the  points  of 
departure  from  the  railroad  to  Guadalajara,  the 
capital  of  Jalisco,  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles, 
or  two  days  by  diligence.  One  of  these  dreary 
carriages,  with  its  six  mules  harnessed  three 
abreast,  stood  waiting  at  the  station,  coated 
thickly,  inside  and  outside,  with  fine  gray  dust. 

With  few  exceptions  the  roads  of  the  republic 
are  described  as  in  dreadful  condition  ;  and  a 
long  ride  in  one  of  these  big  coaches,  built  in 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  under  a  blazing  sun,  choked  with 
a  cloud  of  ever-present  dust,  and  tossed  back 
and  forth  from  seat  to  roof  as  the  mules  gallop 
madly  along  to  the  loud  shouts  and  perpetual 
flogging  of  the  muleteers,  is  said  to  be  a  torture  * 
so  excruciating  that  only  the  direst  necessity 
will  compel  any  one  to  adventure  it  the  second 
time. 

Signor  RiveroU,  our  chief  interpreter,  stated 
that  ice  would  form  last  night  on  the  jfiagiuy 
leaf,   and  showed  me,   as  we  drew  near   Leon 


30       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

at  10  A.M.,  a  great  number  of  these  leaves, 
also  shallow  earthen  dishes  set  on  the  ground 
for  ice,  forming  in  the  way  described  above. 
jNIost  excellent  oranges — the  finest  I  have  ever 
eaten — come  to  the  stations  in  huge  circular 
baskets  of  straw,  brought  on  the  backs  of  burros 
a  long  way  over  the  mountains. 

Rode  by  tramway  from  the  station  to  Leon, 
the  second  largest  city  of  Mexico,  of  say  seven- 
ty-five thousand  souls.  It  has  an  Alameda,  or 
garden  and  promenade,  set  with  ash- trees 
bordered  with  dressed  stone.  Leon  is  in  the 
midst  of  a  plain  of  great  extent,  differing 
from  any  land  we  have  yet  seen  by  having 
water  near  the  surface,  and  so  being  only  partly 
dependent  on  irrigation.  This  plain  is  of  great 
fertility,  called  almost  the  richest  in  the  republic, 
and  extends,  with  brief  interruptions,  to  the 
City  of  Mexico.  The  station  agent  said  it  has 
been  worked  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
without  fertilizing.  We  saw  in  the  market  and 
had  at  dinner  on  our  dining-car,  the  "  Rn,y- 
•mond,"  the  most  delicious  lettuce,  grown  here. 
Saw  men  watering  the  streets  with  water 
brought  from  a  ditch  near  by  in  great  earthen 
pots  ;  also  all  along  water  being  drawn  as  the 
Egyptians  did  and  do,  by  a  rude  "sweep." 
The  wells  arc  not  more  than  three  to  four  feet 
deep. 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        3 1 

There  are  many  species  of  cactus,  some 
growing  to  a  prodigious  size.  On  the  way  to 
Leon  by  tramcar  I  saw  a  stem  of  what  is  called 
the  organ  cactus,  rising  not  less  than  thirty  feet 
perpendicularly.  This  remarkable  plant  has  a 
single  straight  stem  made  up  of  parts  several 
feet  long,  six-sided,  and  joined  so  as  to  make  one 
perfect  trunk,  with  joints  hardly  visible.  The 
larger  ones  here  are  six  inches  in  diameter. 
They  plant  them  side  by  side  and  make  a  fence 
as  connected  as  could  be  done  by  driving  stakes 
into  the  ground  close  together.  Another  species 
grows  like  a  tree,  with  branches  and  a  dark  rind, 
looking,  a  little  way  off,  exactly  like  a  large  fruit- 
tree,  fully  as  big  in  trunk  and  limbs  as  any  apple- 
tree  on  Brook  Farm. 

Was  not  much  impressed  with  Leon,  whose 
principal  features  seemed  tame  after  romantic 
Zacatecas.  Leather  goods  are  extensively  man- 
ufactured here— boots  and  saddles,  shoes,  and 
the  huaraches,  or  leathern  sandals,  worn  by  the 
poorer  classes  and  mostly  by  the  soldiers,  and 
preferred  in  this  warm  climate  to  close  boots  or 
shoes.  The  blue  rebozos,  or  long,  narrow  shawls 
universally  worn  by  the  women,  are  extensivel}' 
made  here  ;  but,  on  the  whole,  Leon  is  an  unin- 
teresting city  to  the  tourist. 

At  2  P.M.  came  on  to  Silao,  twent)'  miles 
further,  a  place  of  no  special  interest,  and   re- 


32        A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

mained  all  night,  alwa3^s  in  our  sleeping-car. 
Here  is  a  fiouring-mill  said  to  have  been  running 
for  one  hundred  years,  in  the  hands  of  one 
family.  The  old  way  was  to  put  the  grain  on  a 
threshing-floor  and  trample  it  out  with  mules, 
then  winnow  it  by  hand,  as  in  Bible  times,  then 
wash  it  and  grind  by  mules.  Lately  steam- 
pow^er  has  been  brought  in,  and  the  wood  used 
is  bought  by  the  pound  and  brought  to  market, 
as  everything  is,  on  the  backs  of  the  little 
burros.  There  were  two  piles  of  this  precious 
article  visible  in  the  mill-yard  from  the  station, 
about  as  large  as  would  keep  both  families  at 
Brook  Farm  for  a  year,  and  the  station  agent 
said  it  was  reckoned  worth  about  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars. 

A  military  band  came  to  the  train  and  played 
for  an  hour. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Arrive  at  Silao — Off  for  Marfil — A  description  of 
the  Valenciana  Mine — Guanajuato — Its  historic 
interest — The  Alliondiga  Graneditas — What  zue 
there  witnessed  -Qiiere'taro — Cerro  de  las  Canipa- 
nas — Scene  of  Emperor  Maximilian  s  execution, 

February  i^th. — Woke  at  6  A.M.  at  Silao.  At 
8  A.M.  took  branch  of  the  Central  Road — still 
keeping  our  own  train — to  Marfil,  a  suburb  of 
Guanajuato,  capital  of  the  State  of  the  same 
name,  fifteen  miles  from  Silao,  nine  hundred  and 
twenty-six  feet  above  it,  and  sixty-eight  hundred 
leet  abov^e  the  sea  ;  population  seventy-five  thou- 
sand ;  founded  1554  ;  built  in  a  steep  ravine,  and 
one  of  the  leading  mining  towns  of  Mexico, 
where  is  the  Valenciana  Mine,  said  to  have 
yielded  eight  hundred  million  dollars  in  silver. 
It  is  reached  by  tramway  from  Marfil,  being 
situated,  like  most  Mexican  cities,  a  distance 
from  the  railway-station.  The  tramway  is  laid 
through  a  rock}'  canon  in  which  is  bare  room 
for  the  little  Rio  Guanajuato  and  the  road, 
and  all  along,  at  irregular  heights  on  the  hill- 
sides, and  clinging  to  them  as  if  they  grew  there, 
are  rows,  one  above  another,  of  adobe  or  stone 


34       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

houses  and  mills,  with  a  church  with  blue  or 
3'ellow  or  dark  red  dome  in  sight  at  every  turn. 
We  passed  a  Mexican  leading  a  burro  whose 
weight  could  not  be  more  than  three  hundred 
pounds,  with  a  live  fat  pig,  weighing  certainly 
not  less,  strapped  on  his  back  crosswise,  trudg- 
ing to  market. 

x\ll  at  once  we  are  in  the  heart  of  a  city 
swarming  with  life.  There  are  some  fifty  works 
here  for  the  reduction  of  the  ore,  most  of  them 
from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  years  old 
and  adding  greatly  to  the  mediaeval  quaintness 
of  the  town,  which  is  beyond  description,  and  far 
surpasses  anything  yet  seen.  These  "  Reduc- 
tion" works  were  originally  built  to  repel  rob- 
bers, and  have  walls  and  quaint  towers  pierced 
for  musketry.  The  old  houses  rise  rank  above 
rank  on  the  steep  mountain-sides,  the  ground 
being  terraced  out  to  give  room,  so  that  it  cost 
eighty  thousand  dollars,  it  is  said,  to  make  space 
for  the  Jesuit  Church,  costing  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  Narrow^  causeways  paved 
with  cobbles  climb  tortuously  up  at  all  angles 
among  low  stone  houses  with  barred  windows, 
painted,  some  blue,  some  dull  red,  some  yellow, 
some  white,  and  often  a  sort  of  dado  of  contrast- 
ing colors  runs  along,  a  dozen  together,  as  high 
upas  the  window-ledges.  Between  the  bars  of 
the   windows  are  seen  the  flashing  black  eyes, 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        35 

nut-brown  faces,  and  raven  hair  of  the  women, 
and  leaning  against  the  walls  outside  hundreds 
of  swarthy  men  in  almost  as  savage  garb  as  the 
Comanche  Indians,  looking  like  the  bandits  of 
story.  Stairways  in  many  places  connect  one 
terrace  with  another.  On  the  terraces,  in 
the  upper  portion  of  the  city,  are  exceedingl}' 
handsome  residences  of  rich  citizens,  with 
beautiful  gardens  along  the  reservoirs. 

Near  the  city  is  obtained  a  fine  variegated 
sandstone,  blue,  pale  green,  chocolate,  and 
other  colors,  mingling  in  a  charming  way,  and 
now  used  largely  for  building  the  better  houses. 
The  great  want  of  the  town  is  water,  and  at  the 
few  places  where  it  is  doled  out  by  officers 
appointed  for  the  purpose  were  long  rows  of 
women  patiently  waiting  with  earthen  jars  for 
their  turn  to  fill.  Most  of  the  mines  are  sup- 
plied from  one  well,  the  water  being  pumped, 
as  at  Zacatecas,  in  similar  quaint  towers.  The 
water-carriers  here  have  a  peculiar  jar,  a  sort 
of  cylinder  four  feet  long,  strapped  on  their 
backs. 

Such  bits  of  architecture  and  color  every- 
where ! — the  Spain  of  three  hundred  years  ago, 
with  picturesque  Mexican  Indians  in  place  of 
Moors.  The  place  has  an  historic  interest.  The 
brave  Hidalgo,  priest  and  patriot,  who  raised 
the  standard  of  revolt  from  Spain,  laid  siege  to 


2,6       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND   CALIFORNIA. 

the  Spanish  forces  on  the  hills  hereabouts  and 
captured  the  AUiondiga  Graneditas,  or  ex- 
change, whither  they  had  retreated.  The  town 
was  recaptured  by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  head 
of  Hidalgo,  put  to  death  at  Chihuahua,  was 
sent  on  here  and  affixed  to  the  wall  high  up. 
The  hook  is  pointed  out  to  which  it  was  affixed. 
The  Graneditas  was  used,  under  the  viceroys 
here  and  in  other  large  towns,  for  those  bring- 
ing crops  to  market  to  expose  them  for  sale 
to  the  poor,  forty-eight  hours,  at  wholesale 
prices,  before  selling  them  to  the  dealers.  This 
is  now  used  as  a  prison,  and  we  passed  through 
a  Jarge  court  where  near  a  hundred  prisoners 
were  strolling  about  or  standing  against  the 
walls  in  the  sun  or  sitting  on  the  tiled  floors, 
a  few  braiding  rushes.  They  are  prisoners 
of  this  State,  corresponding  to  convicts  of 
our  State  prisons.  Their  cells  open  from  the 
balconies  on  the  second  story  surrounding  the 
court,  and  are  large  rooms— as  large,  in  fact, 
as  many  of  the  sole  rooms  of  the  first  floor  of 
the  adob^  houses — and  are  filled,  if  need  be, 
with  as  many  as  can  lie  on  mats  spread  on  the 
stone  floor,  the  only  light  and  ventilation  being 
through  two  holes  in  the  door,  each  say  four 
by  two  inches.  From  the  upper  balcony  w-e 
went  by  a  narrow  stairway  to  the  roof,  whence 
is  a  fine  view  of  the  city. 


A   TOUR  IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        37 

Some  scenes  below,  fit  for  a  place  in  Dante's 
hell,  are  the  inclosures  of  several  Reduction 
Houses,  where,  in  accordance  with  the  old 
usage  since  the  mines  were  opened,  some  ten 
mules  were  moving-  slowly  about  in  each,  under 
a  hot  sun,  in  a  sticky  bed  of  paste  made  of  the 
ore  mixed  with  water  and  quicksilver,  a  Mexi- 
can standing  in  the  centre  plying  his  heavy 
whip  without  rest  on  these  miserable  brutes, 
Avallowing  on  with  difficulty,  making  a  picture 
of  misery,  pain,  and  despair.  The  mercury 
softens  the  feet  of  the  mules,  so  that  they  only 
last  from  one  to  two  years,  and  in  a  yard  near  by 
were  a  number  waiting  their  turn,  standing  gr 
lying  in  painful  attitudes,  one  stretched  out  at 
length  licking  his  poor  legs.  The  men  who 
drive  these  mules  and  stand  knee-deep  in  this 
mud  vrith  naked  legs  also  become  affected  and 
shorten  their  lives,  but  the  unusual  price  of 
fifty  cents  per  day  secures  men  enough  ;  and 
so  cheap  is  this  way  of  working  that,  rude  as  it 
is,  it  is  doubtful  whether  mines  so  worked  are 
not  more  profitable  than  those  where  the  latest 
machinery  is  used,  so  terribly  expensive  is  fuel 
and  so  scarce  is  water. 

On  the  way  back  I  saw  a  picture  :  through 
an  opening  of  a  fence  of  organ  cactus,  against  a 
background  of  gray  adobe,  was  leaning  a  tall, 
swarthv  Mejcican  with   wide  sombrero  and    red 


38        A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

scrape.  His  burro,  laden  with  panniers,  stood 
with  its  bridle  thrown  over  the  branch  of  an 
oleander  profuse  in  red  blossoms,  and  overhead 
a  bit  of  the  bluest  sky. 

February  igth. — Woke  at  Queretaro,  a  fair 
citv  of  say  thirty  thousand  population,  lying  in 
the  midst  of  the  great  plain,  with  water  all 
about,  and  so  is  green  and  beautiful  and  fertile. 
It  is  the  first  city  we  have  seen  on  a  level  site, 
and  stands  pleasantly  in  the  midst  of  many 
umbrageous  ash -trees,  above  which  rise  nu- 
merous domes  and  towers  and  steeples,  hung 
with  many  bells  ;  so  that  the  hill  a  mile  away  is 
called  Cerro  de  las  Campanas,  or  '-  Hill  of  the 
Bells."  Went  to  the  plaza,  a  pretty,  green 
spot,  with  abundant  water  brought  five  miles 
by  an  aqueduct,  a  gift  from  the  Marquis  de  la 
V^illar  de  la  Aguilar.  Bought  some  pottery  in 
the  market  near  by — two  bottles  and  a  vase 
—  for  twenty-eight  cents.  Rode  out  to  the 
Cerro  de  las  Campanas,  from  the  highest  point 
of  which  is  a  fair  view  of  town  and  country 
smiling  below.  Here  on  the  slope  of  the  little 
hill  looking  toward  the  town,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
1867,  having  been  led  thither  from  the  Con- 
vent of  the  Capuchinas,  by  the  way  we  came, 
Emperor  Maximilian  and  the  traitors  Gener- 
als Miramon  and  Meji  awere  placed  against  a 
bit   of    low    adobe    wall    used    as    a    breastwork 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.         39 

during  the  siege,  and  shot  by  sentence  of  a 
court-martial  approved  by  General  Escobedo 
and  confirmed  by  Juarez.  Goodly  is  the  scene 
on  which  the  emperor  looked  for  the  last  time, 
if  his  heart  were  not  too  full  of  thoughts  of 
his  mother  far  away,  when  he  asked  as  a  last 
request  that  the  ragged,  sandalled  patriots 
before  him  might  be  instructed  not  to  disfigure 
his  face  with  their  bullets,  so  that  she  miofht  see 
it  once  more.  It  is  said  that  he  was  at  first 
placed  in  the  middle,  but  saying  to  General 
Miramon  that  the  place  of  honor  is  for  the 
bravest,  gently  led  him  there.  Unfortunate 
Maximilian  !  Victim  of  the  treachery  of  a  Bona- 
parte, a  race  never  sparing  friend  or  foe  !  Stern, 
just,  and  wise  Juarez,  the  truest  friend  thy  coun- 
try ever  had,  whom  she  may  soon  need  again  ! 

Yesterday  at  Irapuato,  nineteen  miles  from 
Silao,  fresh  strawberries  were  brought,  and  it 
is  said  to  be  the  only  place  where  they  can  be 
had  now.  They  are  a  long,  pointed  berry, 
looking  unripe,  but  really  quite  sweet  and 
relishable.  At  Marquez  we  were  at  the  highest 
point  on  the  road,  8134  feet  above  the  sea,  or 
1849  ^eet  higher  than  Mount  Washington  ;  the 
road  descends  again,  then  rises,  then  goes  down 
into  the  basin  some  six  hundred  feet,  where 
Mexico  lies,  about  seventy-five  hundred  feet 
above  the  sea. 


40        A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

Another  picture  at  Queretaro  to-day.  In  the 
well-shaded  plaza,  on  a  spot  of  vividly  green 
grass,  the  sun,  glinting  through  the  branches, 
falls  in  flecks  on  a  soldier  in  white,  relieved 
only  by  the  black  scabbard  of  the  straight 
sword  depending  from  his  thigh,  and  his  blue 
scrape  flung  across  his  shoulder,  standing  like  a 
statue,  a  thin  wreath  of  smoke  from  his  cigarette 
slowly  rising  and  almost  blending  with  the  mist 
from  a  fountain  behind  him.  Blooming  shrubs 
all  about.  No  stir  in  the  air  nor  in  anything 
save  the  mist  of  the  fountain  and  the  curling 
smoke. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

IVe  rcacJi  the  Mexico  Station  of  the  Central  Rail- 
road— Ititrbide  Hotel — Paseo  de  la  Refornia — 
The  Ahnneda,  or  principal  park — A  brilliant 
equestrian  picture — The  National  Theatre  and 
Sarah  Bernhardt. 

February  20th,  Sunday. — Woke  in  the  Mex- 
ico Station  of  the  Central  Railroad,  twelve 
hundred  and  twenty-four  miles  from  El  Paso, 
where  we  entered  the  republic.  The  stars  faded 
quickly  from  the  east  ;  soon  the  whole  sky 
was  filled  with  a  light  so  dimmed  w^ith  haze  and 
dust  that  the  peaks  of  the  porpli}' ritic  mountains 
of  the  rim  of  the  valley  were  scarcely  visible, 
and  far  Ixtaccihuatl  showed  faintly  and  disap- 
pointingly. Conveyed  by  tramway  to  Iturbide 
Hotel,  said  most  truly  of  all  the  stories  about 
it,  I  should  judge,  to  have  been  built  by 
a  wealthy  Spaniard  and  rented  for  some  time 
to  the  Emperor  Iturbide,  whence  its  name.  It 
is  a  four-stor}^  building  built  of  gray  stone, 
tougher  than  what  we  have  seen  before,  or  per- 
haps igneous  in  origin,  from  the  dead  volcanoes 
hereabout,  around  a  paved  court,  as  all  large 
houses  are  here,  with  floors,  stairways  and  all,  of 
4 


42        A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIl-ORMA. 

solid  stone  or  brick.  The  various  parls  we  are 
used  to  seeing  snugly  placed  in  easy  relations 
with  one  another  are  here  scattered  about  in  a 
rambling  and  disjointed  w^ay.  There  are  valets- 
de-cJiavibre  in  place  of  chambermaids,  and  al- 
though there  are  electric  bells — and  really  the 
response  is  prompt  enough  —one  wonders  how 
it  happens  to  be  so  and  doesn't  believe  it  likely 
to  happen  again. 

We  are  well  placed  in  a  huge  apartment  giv- 
ing on  Sacramento  Street  b}^  a  balcony  on  the 
second  story,  where  we  can  sit  and  see  the  life 
below.  Here  for  the  first  time  since  we  left 
New  Orleans  we  leave  our  train  for  a  hotel,  and 
are  to  take  our  meals  at  the  Cafe  Anglais,  near 
by  the  Iturbide,  on  the  European  plan,  the  table 
of  the  hotel  not  being  thought  well  of.  The 
cooking  is  a  mixture  of  degenerate  French  and 
dirty  Spanish,  and  we  have  table  d'hote  of  a 
dreary  enough  kind.  Engaged,  at  the  recom- 
mendation of  Signor  RivaroU,  a  Mr.  Benfield 
for  guide  and  interpreter  while  here,  at  three 
dollars  per  day.  He  is  a  decayed  English  gen- 
tleman of  say  sixty-five,  who  has  lived  here 
since  boyhood  and  seems  mildly  fit  to  show  us 
the  town. 

This  is  a  carnival  day,  and  in  the  afternoon 
with  Betty  walked  up  our  street  and  had 
seats  for  an  hour  by  the  Paseo  de  la  Reforma, 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        43 

the  fashionable  drive,  two  miles  long,  extending 
in  a  straight  line  from  the  little  circular  plaza 
or  glorietta,  where  is  an  equestrian  statue  of 
Charles  IV.,  to  the  gates  of  Chapultepec,  whose 
walls  of  white  stone  show  fair  on  the  isolated 
crag  where  it  stands.  The  Paseo  is  more  than 
a  hundred  feet  wide,  well  paved,  planted  on 
each  side  with  double  rows  of  trees,  under 
which  are  footways  and  massive  seats  of  dull 
red  stone.  Within  the  distance  of  the  first  mile 
are  imposing  statues  of  Charles  IV.,  Columbus, 
and  Guatimozin,  each  in  its  glorietia,  and  within 
this  extent  every  afternoon,  between  font*  and 
six  o'clock,  all  the  fashion  of  the  city  takes  its 
exercise  on  horseback  or  in  carriages,  turning 
and  going  round  and  round  over  the  same 
ground,  the  equestrians  keeping  the  middle. 

Lying  along  one  side  of  this  beautiful  drive  is 
the  principal  park  or  Alameda,  as  large  pleasure- 
grounds  or  even  public  gardens  are  called 
throughout  Mexico,  because  this  one  was  orig- 
inally planted  with  alamos  or  poplars.  This 
spot  was  set  apart  by  the  city  government  in 
1592  "for  the  ennoblement  of  Mexico  and  the 
recreation  of  its  citizens."  It  includes  a  space 
about  fifteen  hundred  feet  long  by  seven  hun- 
dred wide,  and  is  charming,  with  its  great  trees, 
fiow^ering  shrubs,  roses,  and  many  fountains. 
The  scene  on  the  Paseo  was  quite  animated,  the 


44       A   TOUR  IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

carriages  mostly  ugly,  heavy,  and  ill-hung  hack- 
ney-coaches, Avith  mules  or  only  fairish  horses  to 
pull  them,  with  now  and  then  a  better  equipage, 
and  sometimes  a  footman  and  coachman  in  liv- 
er}' ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  cortege  of  carriages 
would  m.ake  a  sorry  show  in  Central  Park.  The 
occupants  mostly  looked  in  the  transition  state, 
and  unaccustomed  to  the  provincialized  Parisian 
raiment  they  had  put  on  in  place  of  the  Mexi- 
can. With  the  body  of  the  equestrians,  however, 
it  is  quite  different.  The  Mexican  cavalier  is, 
perhaps,  as  picturesque  a  figure  as  now  remains 
in  any  land.  These  rode  by  in  hundreds,  sitting 
their  horses  admirably,  w^earing  a  rich]}-  orna- 
mented sombrero,  a  tight  jacket  with  close  rows 
of  little  silver  buttons,  trousers  of  leather  or 
heavy  cloth,  with  two  rows  of  broad,  round 
spangles  from  the  thigh  down  the  outside  of  the 
leg  to  the  bottom,  buff  leather  boots  equipped 
with  heav}'  spurs  of  gold  or  silver — and  such 
saddles  !  all  heavy,  large,  high-pommelled,  em- 
bossed leather,  abundant  silver  mountings,  broad 
girths  and  ample  housings.  In  some  cases 
a  handsome,  neatly  coiled  lariat  was  hung  be- 
hind the  seat,  and  sometimes  a  sword  at  the 
pommel. 

The  Mexican  rides  with  so  cruel  a  bit  that 
only  the  gentlest  touch  is  needed,  and  a  varie- 
gated cord  of  twisted  silk  or  maguey    fibre    is 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.        45 


quite  enough  to  control  his  horse.  Here  and 
there  a  handsome  senorita,  with  glorious  eyes 
and  black  hair,  rode  by,  usually  with  father  and 
mother,  or  sister  and  brother,  or  other  members 
of  her  family,  for  no  respectable  girl  is  allowed 
to  be  abroad  without  relative  or  duenna  in 
company.  The  method  of  saluting  acquaintances 
is  peculiar.  A  gentleman,  for  instance,  seeing 
a  lady  of  his  acquaintance  in  a  balcony,  makes 
an  impressiv^e  gesture  by  quickly  lilting  his 
right  hand  and  moving  the  two  forefingers 
as  if  to  inform  her  pointedly  that  he  recog- 
nizes and  salutes  her.  She  in  return — if  she 
choose  to  do  so,  of  course  —  makes  a  sim- 
ilar gesture  in  reply,  when  the  cavalier  takes 
off  his  sombrero  by  grasping  the  top  of  the 
crown  and  makes  a  sweeping  salute  with  it.  1 
saw  such  salutation  between  a  pretty  girl  in  a 
private  carriage,  with  only  a  dumpy  woman 
on  the  further  side,  appearing  to  be,  from  her 
inferior  dress,  an  attendant  or  duenna.  The 
salutation  over,  the  cavalier,  a  dashing  young 
blade,  spurred  his  horse  close  beside  the  car- 
riage, placed  his  nearer  hand  on  its  top,  and  with 
perfect  ease  kept  his  position  until  cavalier  and 
equipage  were  out  of  sight — the  bright,  expres- 
sive eyes  and  smiling  mouth  of  his  inamorata 
testifying  that  his  boldness  was  not  displeasing. 
In  the  evening  went  to  the  National  Theatre 


46       A   TOUR   IX    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

and  saw  Sarah  Bernhardt  as  Theodora.  The 
house  is  of  solid  stone,  almost  no  wood  used 
in  it.  It  is  nearly  as  large  as  the.  New  York 
Academy  of  Music,  and  the  auditorium  is  ar- 
ranged in  four  circles  of  boxes,  besides  the 
usual  parquet,  which  is  fully  respectable,  and 
where  seats  are  as  high  in  price  as  in  the 
boxes.  The  attendance  was  not  large  nor  verj^ 
enthusiastic,  although  the  play  would  seem 
likely  to  rouse  this  people.  The  men  have  a 
habit  of  keeping  their  hats  on  before  the  pla}' 
begins  and  between  the  acts,  and  of  rising  to  face 
the  spectators  and  stare  at  the  ladies  at  lei- 
sure. The  price  of  a  ticket  to  the  parquet 
for  Bernhardt  was  four  dollars.  Her  manager 
told  me  that  she  took  three  million  francs  in 
South  America  in  three  months.  The  drop- 
curtain  is  covered  with  advertising  spaces 
painted  in  colors,  and  about  two  feet  square, 
with  some  double  that  size,  and  three  or  four 
blanks.  The  effect  was  cheap  and  belittling  to 
a  degree.  The  performance  began  at  a  quarter 
to  nine,  the  time  set  being  half-past  eight. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Wc  visit  a  private  imiseinn,  also  CJiapiiltepec  and 
the  Monte  de  Piedad,  or  National  Pawn-shop —  The 
Cathedral — Its  grandettr  and  inipressiveness — 
An  i^ispection  of  tJie  National  Miiseiun  and  Acad- 
emy of  Fine  A  rts —  The  College  of  Medicine —  The 
streets  and  houses  of  Mexico — How  tortilla,  the 
national  corn  foody  is  made. 

February  2\st. — The  morning  cool  and  fresh 
and  beautifuL  No  fire  in  the  hotel,  save  in  the 
kitchen,  nor  any  way  of  having  one,  nor  in  any 
house  in  the  city,  I  am  told,  and  scarcel}^  a 
chimney.  Went  by  tramway  to  the  end  of  the 
line,  thence  by  a  flatboat  on  the  canal  of  Chalco, 
which  runs  alongside  the  Paseo  de  la  Viga. 
This  boat  had  cushioned  seats  along  the  sides  and 
a  low  deal  roof.  The  boatman  propelled  it  by 
a  pole,  having  only  the  runway  of  the  slanting 
prow.  The  canal  is,  where  we  were  on  it, 
about  sixty  feet  wide,  the  water  foul,  but  not  so 
bad  as  I  expected  from  what  I  had  read  of 
it,  and  runs  with  considerable  current.  We 
went  in  this  way  to  the  first  bridge,  sa}^  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  terminus  of  the 
tramway,    landed    on    the    opposite    bank,    and 


48        A   TOUR   IN    :^IEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

visited  a  sort  of  museum  made  in  his  private 
residence  on  the  canal  by  a  Spaniard — Juan 
Corano,  a  retired  bull-fighter,  who  married  a 
rich  widow — where  we  saw  many  interesting 
things,  such  as  arms,  furniture,  ornaments,  etc., 
characteristically  Mexican,  and  each  good  of 
its  kind.  The  collection  extends  all  through 
his  private  rooms,  and  is  shown  willingly,  and 
even  cordiall3%  to  callers.  Nothing  is  for  sale, 
and  the  half  dollar  I  offered  the  young  person 
who  showed  us  about  was  positively  declined. 
This  beautiful  and  tasteful  collection  is  well 
worth  visiting.  The  charge  made  by  the  Ind- 
ian vrho  poled  us  up  and  back  was  fifty  cents 
for  a  party  of  seven. 

In  the  afternoon  took  a  carriage  and  rode 
along  the  Paseo  de  la  Reforma  to  Chapultepec, 
three  miles  from  the  hotel  in  a  south-west  direc- 
tion, the  old  aqueduct  bringing  water  to  the 
city  from  the  giant  spring  at  Chapultepec  over 
arches,  being  near  at  hand  the  greater  part  of 
the  way.  The  intermediate  country  is  perfectly 
level,  as  is  the  entire  basin  of  Mexico,  forty-five 
by  thirty  miles  in  extent.  Chapultepec  stands 
on  the  top  of  a  steep,  isolated,  circular  hill  of 
porphyritic  rock,  sa}-  three  hundred  feet  high. 
Montezuma  is  said  to  have  had  his  palace  here, 
and  the  Spaniards  built  a  fortress  on  the  site, 
and  as  it  was  surrounded  by  a  marsh  in  earlier 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        49 

times  it  had  great  natural  strength.  The  Gov- 
ernment is  fitting  it  up  as  a  residence  for  the 
President,  and  by  permission  of  the  Governor 
of  the  National  Palace,  as  the  great  building  on 
the  Cathedral  plaza  is  called  where  all  the  offi- 
cers of  the  Government  are  housed,  we  visited 
all  the  apartments,  or  nearly  all,  occupied  by 
President  Diaz  and  his  family,  now  absent.  He 
also  has  a  house  in  town.  These  rooms  were 
not  long  ago  fitted  up  in  a  superb  manner,  by  a 
New  York  firm.  The  character  of  a  fortress  is 
disappearing. 

The  military  academy  is  still  here,  but  archi- 
tects and  workmen  are  changing  the  huge 
pile  of  buildings  into  a  noble  residence.  Mag- 
nificent views  are  had  from  its  marble  terraces 
in  every  direction,  partly  obscured  to  us  by 
the  dust  lifted  by  an  unusual  wind.  I  expected 
good  views  of  Popocatapetl  and  Ixtaccihuatl — 
the  former  17,782  feet,  the  latter  16,000  feet 
above  the  sea-level.  These  are  peaks  of  the 
great  Cordilleras  range,  are  forty  miles  distant, 
and  to-day  hid  in  clouds.  There  has  been  no 
rain  since  last  October  in  the  valley,  and  the 
soil  everywhere  is  parched,  and  deep  with  a 
light  dust  easily  stirred  by  the  wind,  so  that 
the  city  is  partly  veiled  by  it.  In  this  neigh- 
borhood General  Scott  fought  several  battles 
in   his   flank   movement   on   the    city    in    1847, 


5o       A  TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

forcing  his  way  round  from  the  east  by  the 
south  to  the  west  of  Chapultepec,  which  was 
finallv  taken  and  the  city  was  at  his  mercy. 
There  was  no  carriage-way  up  the  mountain 
then,  1  am  told,  but  now  one  winds  easil)^  round 
it  in  a  picturesque  way  among  the  enormous 
cypresses  festooned  with  Spanish  moss.  While 
at  the  castle  such  dark  and  threatening  clouds 
were  massed  by  the  wind  as  would  surely  have 
led  to  rain  at  home,  and  there  were  a  few  drops 
on  the  window-pane,  but  it  passed  away.  Once 
in  a  great  while,  I  am  told,  there  comes  a 
shower  in  the  dry  season,  but  the  rule  is  no  rain 

Visited  the  Monte  de  Piedad,  or  National 
Pawn-shop,  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the 
institutions  of  the  city.  It  was  founded  in  1775 
b}'  a  certain  Pedro  Romero  de  Terreros,  owner 
of  the  famous  mines  of  Real  del  Monte,  for  the 
kindly  purpose  of  enabling  the  poor  people  of 
the  city  to  obtain  loans  on  personal  property  at 
the  lowest  possible  rate  of  interest,  he  being 
moved  thereto  by  the  cr3^ing  extortion  pi-actised 
by  private  pawnbrokers.  To  this  end  he  en- 
dowed the  establishment  with  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  it  has  since  fiourished,  at 
first  charging  no  interest  whatever  on  its  loans, 
and  later  just  enough  to  pay  expenses.  Its 
average  annual  loans  on  pledges  are  said  to  be 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.         5 1 

about  one  million  dollars  to  from  forty  thousand 
to  fifty  thousand  borrowers.     A  value  is  put  to 
articles  offered,  by  official  appraisers,  and  thej^ 
are  then  exposed  for  sale,  at  prices  plainly  stated 
on  a  card  attached  to  each.     Such  as  remain 
unsold  at  the  end  of  a  month  are  reduced  in 
price  and    again    exposed,    to    be    still    further 
marked  down  at  the  end  of  another  month,  and 
so  on,  reducing  the  price  each  month  for  six 
months,   after  which  time  they  are  sold  at  the 
best  prices  they  will  bri^ig.     If  such  prices  will 
not  repay  the  loan   with  the  moderate  interest 
exacted,  the  appraisers  must  personally  make 
good  the  deficiency.     Meantime,  once  a  month, 
all  such  articles  are  offered  at  public  auction, 
the  upset  price  being  the  price  on   the  ticket 
when  the  article  is  so  offered.     It  occupies  a 
handsome  and  commodious  structure  fronting 
the  western  fagade  of  the  Cathedral,  erected  for 
its  use  on    the  site  formerly  occupied    by  the 
palace  of  Cortez,  and  much  of  rich,  quaint,  and 
curious    is   to    be    seen    in  its    show-cases   and 
store-rooms. 

Thence  into  the  Cathedral,  the  "  Holy  Metro- 
pohtan  Church  of  Mexico,"  and  was  much  im- 
pressed by  its  size,  vast  spaces,  and  t)ie  richness 
of  certain  parts.  It  is  said  to  stand  on  the  site 
of  the  great  Aztec  temple.  The  first  stone  of 
the    existing    Cathedral    was    laid   in    1573,    the 


3- 


final  dedication  took  place  in  1667,  the  whole 
costino^  about  two  million  dollars.     The  great 
bell,   nineteen   feet  high,  in  the  western  tower 
was    hung   in    1792.     It   is   four   hundred    and 
twenty-six  leet  in  length  by  about  two  hundred 
wide,  with  an  interior  height  of  one   hundred 
and  eighty  feet,  and  two  towers  of  two  hundred 
feet.     The  material  of  the  walls  is  a  gray  stone 
harmonizing     well     with     the     basso-relievos, 
statues,    friezes,    bases,   and    capitals   of    white 
marble.     The  cornices^ are  surrounded  by  bal- 
ustrades of  carved  stone,  on  which  stand  stone 
vases  and  colossal  stone  statues  of  the  doctors 
of  the  Church  and  other  early  dignitaries.     Un- 
der the  clock  are  blazoned  the  arms  of  the  re- 
public, a  recent  symbol  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
State.     The  simple  interior  is  in  the  Doric  style  ; 
the  central  arches  form   a  Latin   cross,   above 
which    rises    the    dome    with    its   paintings    of 
sacred  scenes,  surmounted  by  its  graceful  lan- 
tern.    The  aisles  are  divided  from  the  nave  by 
twenty  fluted  columns  supporting  the  vaulted 
roof.     Outside  the  aisles  are  seven  chapels  on 
each  side,  each  dedicated  to  some  saint,  with  its 
altars,   images,   and   pictures.     Ranged  in   line 
down  between  the  central  rows  of  columns  are 
two  great  altars  rising  almost  to  the  roof— the 
Altar  of  Pardon,  rich  in  gold  and  carving,  and 
the  main  altar,  approached  by  seven  steps  and 


A  TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        53 

supported  by  marble  columns  resembling  mal- 
achite. But  richer  than  these,  massive,  gor- 
geous, and  deeply  impressive,  is  the  one  rising 
at  the  north  end  from  the  pavement  to  the  roof, 
called  the  Altar  of  Los  Reyes — the  Kings — all 
carved  and  gilded  in  a  peculiarly  rich  and  ornate 
style,  first  used,  it  is  said,  by  the  Spanish  archi- 
tect and  sculptor  Churriguara,  v/hence  it  takes 
its  name,  Churriguaresque.  It  was  executed  by 
the  artist  who  carved  the  Altar  of  Los  Reyes  in 
the  Cathedral  of  Seville.  Under  it  is  buried  the 
head  of  Hidalgo,  brought  from  Guanajuato  with 
honor.  The  choir  occupies  the  space  between 
the  third  and  fourth  rows  of  columns  of  the  nave, 
midway  between  the  Altar  of  Pardon  and  the 
Grand  Altar,  and  while  beautiful  of  itself,  encum- 
bers the  middle  space  so  as  to  mar  the  general 
effect.  It  is  enclosed  in  front  by  a  handsome 
railing  of  tunibago,  a  composite  metal  of  gold, 
silver,  and  copper — worth  more  than  its  weight 
in  silver  —  made  in  Macao,  China.  Rich  and 
beautiful  are  the  carvings  of  the  brown  oaken 
stalls,  above  which  rise  on  either  side  for  more 
than  fifty  feet  the  quaint  and  carven  cases  of 
two  organs.  In  the  central  space,  on  high 
slanting  desks,  rest  the  huge  choir-books  of  vel- 
lum, painted  in  black  letters,  dating  from  1620. 
The  wide  passage  from  the  choir  to  the  Grand 
Altar  is  bordered  by  a  massive  railing  of  ///w- 
bago,  as  is  the  pedestal  of  the  altar. 


54       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

Thence  to  the  National  Museum,  and  were 
much  interested,  especially  in  the  so-called  Az- 
tec remains.  This  is  said  to  be  the  most  com- 
plete collection  of  Aztec  remains  in  exist- 
ence. From  what  is  shown  here  I  certainly  do 
not  get  any  such  impression  of  the  civilization 
and  greatness  of  that  race  as  the  glowing  pages 
of  Prescott  prepared  me  for.  Excepting  the 
calendar  stone,  the  sacrificial  stone,  and  the 
great  stone  idol  "  Huitzilopochtli,"  all  carved 
in  a  black,  hard  stone,  and  seeming,  from  their 
unlikeness  to  anything  else  here,  to  belong 
among  the  remains  of  another  race,  there  is 
nothing  in  the  collection,  I  should  say,  differing 
in  kind  or  skill  from  what  is  shown  in  any  fair 
collection  of  Indian  relics.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
be  competent  to  judge,  but  venture  the  humble 
opinion  that  the  accounts  of  the  Aztecs  at  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  to  which  we  are 
accustomed,  are  mostly  fabrications,  and  that 
the  Indians  of  that  time  were  pretty  much  as  I 
see  them  now  in  the  parts  we  have  visited, 
with  the  same  simple  habits,  arts,  manufactures, 
and  characteristics.  A  great  deal  can  be  said 
on  this  point,  but  not  by  me. 

Thence  to  the  National  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts,  usually  called  the  Academy  of  San  Carlos. 
There  are  many  pictures  in  suitable  rooms,  but 
nothing  interested  me  much  except  the  pictures 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        55 

by  several  pupils  of  the  school  and  two  by  Felix 
Parra,  formerly  student  and  now  professor  in 
the  same  school,  his  "  Las  Casas"  and  "  Gal- 
ileo." My  guide,  Mr.  Benfield,  introduced  me 
to  a  director  of  the  school,  Signor  Lascurian, 
an  agreeable  and  cultivated  gentleman,  who 
speaks  English  w^ell,  and  who  will  make  me 
known  to  Professor  Parra. 

Passed  the  entire  afternoon  with  guide  going 
to  junk-shops,  pawnbroker-shops,  and  queer, 
out-of-the-way  places.  The  junk-shops  are 
booths  on  the  squares,  and  display  a  queer  lot 
of  *'  auld  nick  nackets" — savage  knives,  the 
queerest  old  locks,  etc.  Many  of  these  booths 
are  ranged  along  the  west  side  of  the  plaza  by 
the  beautiful  Church  of  Santo  Domingo.  Hard 
by  is  the  massive  building — now  occupied  by 
the  College  of  Medicine — built  for  the  use  of 
the  Inquisition,  which  noble  and  civilizing  insti- 
tution was  set  agoing  at  once  after  the  conquest 
and  held  its  first  aiUo  da  fe  in  1574,  when 
''  twenty-one  pestilent  Lutherans"  were  burned. 
Its  last  years  were  spent  in  fighting  liberalism, 
and  its  last  victim  the  patriot  Morelos,  who 
was  put  to  death  as  a  "  traitor  to  God,  to  the 
King,  and  to  the  Pope,"  on  the  26th  of  Novem- 
ber, 181 5. 

The  streets  of  Mexico  are  not  at  all  so  pic- 
turesque   as   those    of   the   smaller    cities,    this 


56        A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

quality  having  been  considerably  modernized 
away.  The  houses,  mostly  of  one  story,  present 
rather  a  mean  appearance  seen  from  the  front ; 
even  the  large,  fine  ones — and  there  are  many 
of  these — hiding  their  splendor  behind  plain 
walls  and  barred  windows,  not  in  a  fashionable 
quarter  by  themselves,  but  mixed  in  with  the 
residences  of  the  poor.  It  is  the  custom  to  let 
the  front  rooms  of  the  first  floor  for  business 
purposes  ;  and  the  cit}^  residence  of  the  rich 
family  of  the  Escandrons,  perhaps  the  finest 
house  in  Mexico,  has  over  the  windows  of  one 
side  of  the  wide  entrance  in  big  letters  the  sign 
of  the  newspaper  Mexican  Financier.  The  living- 
rooms  of  the  good  houses  are  on  the  second 
story,  and  when  the  windows  are  thrown  open 
and  the  balconies,  showy  with  many  colored 
awnings,  are  filled  with  family  groups,  the  scene 
is  cheerful  enough,  and  is  heightened  by  the 
lively  colors  used  in  painting  the  exteriors. 
But  quaintness  and  mellow  richness  of  form  and 
color  is  given  by  the  numerous  old  churches 
and  other  ecclesiastical  establishments  which 
rise  on  every  hand,  vast,  and .  compelling  the 
attention  at  all  times. 

Passing  along  one  of  the  sides  of  the  huge 
National  Palace  I  looked  into  an,  or  rather  tJie 
engine-house  of  the  city  quartered  in  a  gloomy 
room  on  the  ground  floor.     There  was  a  steamer, 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        57 

said  not  to  be  in  order,  and  two  of  the  oddest 
old  hand-engines  extant.  This  is  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  city  against  fires,  but  why  should 
they  make  any  ?  The  houses  are  all  stone  and 
have  no  chimneys  nor  fires  except  a  charcoal 
range  or  brazier  standing  on  a  stone  floor,  and 
generally  in  the  open  air  in  the  courts. 

Adjoining  the  engine-house  are  some  little 
shops  where  the  tortilla,  the  national  corn  food, 
is  made  and  served  hot  from  the  fire.  The 
tortilla  is  the  main  article  of  food  among  the 
native  Indians  all  over  Mexico,  and  is  presum- 
ably made  as  at  the  time  of  the  conquest.  The 
women  of  each  family  prepare  these  little  cakes 
daily,  and  the  labor  of  doing  it  is  so  great  as  to 
absorb  almost  all  their  time.  They  are  made 
by  soaking  the  kernels  of  Indian  corn  in  a  weak 
lye  until  the  hull  is  easily  removed,  and  macer- 
ating the  grains  on  a  hollow  stone  called  inetate,. 
kept  for  the  purpose,  then  flattening  the  pulp 
in  the  palms  of  the  hands  into  small,  thin,  round 
cakes,  which  are  cooked  over  a  charcoal  fire 
much  as  we  do  our  buckwheat-cakes.  They 
are  eaten  plain  or  with  a  little  hashed  meat  and 
vegetables,  red  pepper  predominating,  folded 
in  like  the  old-fashioned  New  England  turn- 
over and  fried  in  fat.  These  with  several  coarse 
varieties  of  stewed  beans,  called /rz/'^/r,  consti- 
tute almost  the  entire  food  of  the  great  bulk  of 
5 


58        A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

the  population.  "  Take  away  his  tortilla,''  said 
Signor  Rivaroll,  chief  interpreter  of  our  party, 
**  and  3'ou  would  reduce  the  Mexican  to  despair. 
Nothing  could  possibl}^  take  its  place." 

Beef  is  fairly  good  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  and 
is  conveyed  from  the  slaughter-houses  to  the 
shops  in  quarters,  suspended  by  hooks  on  huge 
frames  fitted  to  the  backs  of  stout  mules.  Poul- 
try is  good  and  cheap,  and  vegetables  abundant, 
so  that  there  is  little  excuse  for  the  poor  living 
here. 

Made  some  purchases.  The  Mexican  shop- 
keeper is  a  consummate  rascal  in  his  dealings. 
He  lies  in  the  most  unblushing  manner,  and 
begins  by  asking  three  or  four  times  the  price 
he  is  content  to  take.  The  most  honest  dealers 
are  the  foreigners  in  trade  here,  English,  Ger- 
mans, and  Americans.  There  are  good  stores 
of  jewelry,  etc.,  only  fair  of  dry-goods.  The 
shops  are  all  small,  and  the  bulk  of  the  cus- 
tomers poor.  There  is  no  observance  of  the 
courtesy  of  the  sidewalk,  no  keeping  of  the  right 
hand  in  walking.  Everybody  moves  straight 
on  and  only  deflects  when  oblij^ed  to.  This 
gives  the  body  of  promenaders  a  bumpkin  ap- 
pearance, like  the  walks  of  a  country  town  on 
circus  day.  The  public  facilities  for  getting 
about  are  excellent.  Lines  of  tramway  diverge 
in  all  directions  from  the  Cathedral  plaza,  and  the 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        59 

serv^ice  is  cheap  and  good.  The  city  is  admirably 
policed  both  by  a  mounted  force  and  patrohnen, 
the  latter  carrying  lanterns  at  night,  which  they 
set  down  from  time  to  time  in  the  middle  of  the 
streets.  These  are  well  lighted,  the  more  impor- 
tant ones  by  the  electric  light. 

In  the  evening  went  to  Orrin's  Circus,  a  per- 
manent establishment  here,  and  saw  a  perform- 
ance for  the  benefit  of  a  hospital  for  Americans 
taken  sick  in  the  city.  Our  Minister,  ^Ir.  Man- 
ning, laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  hospital  to- 
day, Washington's  birthday,  kept  as  a  national 
holiday  in  Mexico. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Go  to  Guadalupe  by  trauicar — A  disappointment — 
Legend  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe —  TJie  saered 
spring—''  The  Chapel  of  the  Well''  and  *'  The 
Chapel  of  the  Little  HUT' — A  description  of  the 
city  and  of  the  enormous  ditch  Tajo  de  Nochistongo. 

February  2^d. — In  the  morning  went  to  Gua- 
dalupe, two  and  a  half  miles  north  of  the  city,  by 
tramwa}^  The  tramcars  are  drawn  always  by 
mules,  going  at  a  gallop,  lashed  and  objurgated 
all  the  way  by  swarthy  conductors  dressed  in 
blue  tunics,  high  boots,  gray  felt  sombreros, 
wearing  a  brass  horn  slung  over  the  shoulder, 
giving  harsh  notice  of  our  dusty  approach. 
Tried  hard  on  the  way  to  see  Popocatapetl,  but 
clouds  hid  it,  although  the  air  was  fairly  clear. 
I  have  been  much  disappointed  about  this 
mountain,  not  having  had  at  all  a  fair  view,  and 
expecting  it  to  be  a  prominent  feature.  Here 
where  Guadalupe  now  stands,  in  1531 — so  the 
legend  is — on  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  De- 
cember, Juan  Diego,  a  poor  native  Indian,  was 
on  his  way  to  mass,  when  he  heard  angelic 
music  and  the  voice  of  a  Lady,  who,  out  of 
gleaming  splendors,  bade  him  go  to  the  bishop 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        6l 

and  say  it  was  her  will  that  he  build  a  temple 
on  that  spot.  He  obeyed,  but  the  bishop 
refused  to  believe  the  prodigy.  He  returned 
to  the  Lady,  who  heard  his  report  and  bade 
him  come  to  her  again  ;  and  when  he  did  so  on 
the  following  Sunday  she  ordered  him  again 
to  go  and  again  command  the  bishop  to  build 
the  temple,  who  was  still  incredulous.  The 
Indian  then  sought  the  Lady  and  asked  that  he 
might  have  some  sure  sign  of  her  appearance 
to  take  back,  and  was  told  to  come  next  day, 
when  she  gave  him  a  miraculous  flower  and 
bade  him  carry  it  to  the  bishop.  He  wrapped 
this  in  his  ti/7;ia  or  cloth  tunic,  and  lo  !  when 
he  unfolded  it  there  w^as  miprinted  on  the  tunic 
in  beautiful  colors  a  perfect  image  of  the  Vir- 
gin ;  and  from  the  spot  vv^here  had  stood  most 
holy  Mary  gushed  forth  a  spring  of  medicinal 
water,  the  antidote  of  all  infirmities. 

Of  course  the  bishop  was  convinced,  and  built 
a  church  on  the  spot  where  the  Virgin  appeared, 
who,  under  the  title  of  '*  Our  Lady  of  Guada- 
lupe," is  the  patron  saint  and  most  venerated 
name  in  Mexico.  The  miracle  was  confirmed 
by  Rome,  1754,  and  the  Virgin  of  Guadalupe 
was  declared  the  patroness  and  protectress  of 
New  Spain.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  New 
Republic,  1824,  was  to  decree  the  12th  of  De- 
cember a  national  holiday.     She  epitomizes  the 


62        A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

national  life.  Especially  is  she  the  divinity  of 
the  Indians,  thousands  of  whom  make  long  pil- 
grimages to  her  shrine  on  the  12th  of  December 
of  each  year. 

The  Church  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe 
is  rather  modern,  and  is  the  fourth  built  for 
housing  the  miraculous  image,  and  was  com- 
pleted in  1709.  It  has  a  frescoed  dome  one  hun- 
dred and  t went}- five  feet  high.  This  church, 
very  rich  in  jewels,  gold,  and  silver,  has  been 
relieved  by  the  Government  of  nearly  all  its 
wealth,  but  has  a  massive  silver  raiHng  enclos- 
ing the  chancel  and  running  from  the  altar  to 
the  choir.  The  miraculous  picture  of  the  Virgin 
hangs  in  a  tabernacle  in  a  frame  of  mingled 
gold  and  silver  covered  with  plate  glass,  and  is 
fairly  drawn  on  coarse  cloth  and  has  good  color- 
ing. All  who  have  the  faith  to  believe  it  of 
miraculous  origin  so  believe.  "  Without  faith 
ye  can  do  nothing." 

The  spring  is  an  ample,  mild,  sulphur  water 
with  a  not  disagreeable  taste,  and  the  small  cop- 
per pail  dipping  into  it  is  in  constant  use  ;  and 
such  motley  and  wild  throngs  as  flock  to  its 
sacred  water  to-day  !  The  spring  is  in  the  ante- 
room of  a  little  chapel  called  Capilla  del  Pocito, 
"  The  Chapel  of  the  Well,"  having  a  charming 
dome  of  enamelled  tiles.  On  the  top  of  the  hill 
is  the  Capilla  del  Cerrito,  "  The  Chapel  of  the 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.        63 

Little  Hill,"  marking-  the  spot  where  Juan  Diego 
cut  the  roses,  reached  by  a  wide  stairwa}'  wind- 
ing up  the  rock.  Part  way  up  the  hill  on  the 
west  side  is  a  curious  grotto  made  by  excavating 
several  rooms  in  the  hillside  and  lining"  the  wall 
with  broken  bits  of  all  kinds  of  pottery,  pro- 
ducing a  pretty  effect  in  mosaic,  a  work  of 
infinite  patience  done  by  some  toiler  unknown 
to  fame  whose  patchworks  continue  to  praise 
him. 

In  the  afternoon  took  carriage  and  shopped 
till  dinner  with  wife,  children,  and  guide.  The 
city  is  laid  out  in  wide  streets  running  at  right 
angles,  but  for  the  most  part  badly  paved  and 
poorlv  kept,  as  much  so,  I  should  say,  as  the 
greater  parts  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  It 
stands  in  the  lowest  part  of  a  plain  of  about 
thirty  by  forty  miles,  this  plain  being  the  bot- 
tom of  a  bowl  whose  rim  is  an  almost  unbroken 
circle  of  high  mountains.  This  plain  is  sevent}"- 
five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  and  so  situated 
that,  so  far,  it  has  not  been  possible  to  drain  it. 
Consequently  the  city  stands  on  the  sewage  of 
more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  years,  having 
been  founded  by  Cortez  in  1521.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  city  proper  is  about  three  hundred 
thousand.  In  spite  of  the  great  advantage  of  its 
elevation,  so  that  noxious  emanations  from  the 
putrid  soil  are  dissipated  in   the    rarefied    air, 


64        A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

Mexico,  which  should  be  one  of  the  healthiest, 
is  really  one  of  the  most  unhealth}^  cities  in  the 
world.  There  can  be  no  improvement  until 
there  is  a  system  of  drainage,  and  to  this  prob- 
lem the  best  talent  and  wisdom  of  the  republic 
is  devoting  itself.  This  whole  basin  was  once  a 
lake,  then  by  evaporation  a  swamp,  and  now, 
from  the  same  cause,  firm,  dry  land,  excepting 
about  one  tenth  of  its  surface  covered  by  four 
primeval  lakes  without  outlet. 

Texcoco,  the  onl}^  salt  lake,  is  on  the  lowest 
level,  and  contains  seventy-seven  square  miles, 
the  great  square  of  the  capital  being  only  two 
feet  higher  than  its  mean  level.  Ochimilco, 
with  fifty  square  miles  of  surface,  is  three  and  a 
half  feet  higher  than  Texcoco,  and  Zumpango 
is  twenty-nine  feet  higher  than  the  citv.  Of 
course  the  danger  of  inundation  is  always 
imminent,  the  protection  from  it  being  only 
partial.  There  have  been  five  of  these  inunda- 
tions, the  last  one  continuing  from  1629  to  1634. 
On  a  street  corner,  at  a  height  of  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  feet  from  the  pavement,  is  affixed  to  a 
wall  a  grotesque  head  marking  the  highest  point 
reached  by  the  water  in  1629. 

In  1607  the  Viceroy  employed  Enrico  Mar- 
tinez, a  native  of  Germany,  to  devise  a  plan  to 
protect  the  city.  He  proposed  to  make  a 
tunnel   through  a  notch  of   the  mountains  and 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        65 

carry  off  the  surplus  water  of  the  lakes,  and 
when  afterward  this  was  found  to  be  too  small,  it 
was  opened  at  the  top  and  converted  into  a  huge 
dike  called  Tajo  de  NocJiistongo,  an  enormous 
ditch,  said  to  be  the  most  extensive  earth-cutting 
in  existence.  Its  length  is  67,537  feet,  its  great- 
est depth  197  feet,  and  greatest  breadth  361  feet. 
It  was  nearly  two  hundred  years  building,  and 
is  said  to  have  cost  the  lives  of  seventy  thousand 
natives.  A  handsome  pedestal  and  bust  stand 
in  the  Cathedral  plaza  erected  to  Martinez,  and 
on  one  side  is  an  index  showing  the  rise  and  fall 
of  the  threatening  water  in  the  lakes. 

But  all  that  has  been  done  hitherto  is  quite  in- 
sufficient for  the  drainage  of  the  city  and  the 
lakes.  Tliere  is  but  one  effectual  way,  and  that 
a  city  like  Chicago,  for  instance,  w^ould  have 
put  into  use  long  ago.  There  must  be  cut  sheer 
through  the  rim  of  the  surrounding  mountains 
such  an  outlet  as  will  suffice  to  do  the  work, 
and  then  the  City  of  Mexico  will  be  a  most 
delightful  and  healthy  city.  As  it  is,  all  forms 
of  malaria  sweep  off  the  population  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent,  and  only  the  altitude  of  the  city 
saves  it  from  plagues  rendering  it  uninhabitable. 

I  should  have  said  that  connected  with  the 
Chapel  on  the  Hill  is  a  cemetery  with  many  fine 
tombs  of  a  fashion  strange  to  me,  where  lie  the 
dead    of  leading  families,    among   them    Santa 


66        A   TOUR   IN    Mfc:XICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

Ana,  who  sought  this  spot  as  sanctified  ground. 
In  tliis  village  was  signed  the  treaty  of  Guada- 
lupe-Hidalgo between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico  at  the  close  of  the  war,  February  2d, 
1848. 


CHAPTER   X. 

We  attend  mass  at  the  Cathedral—  The  ' '  Tree  of 
the  Dismal  Nighf—  Tohtea — Pulque  and  how  it 
is  made — Market-day  in  Toluca —  The  Nevado  de 
Toluca  Mountain — A  grand  viezu  from  the  Castle 
of  Chapultepec— Famous  cypress-trees— A  mag- 
nificent spring  of  tvater — Tacubaya  and  its  Ob- 
servatory, 

February  2\th. — In  the  morning  attended  mass 
in  the  Cathedral.  Greatly  impressed  by  the 
services  in  the  vast  space,  with  the  music  and 
colors.  At  its  close  went  into  the  sacristy, 
where  the  attendants  were  putting  away  the 
vestments  into  huge  mahogany  drawers  with 
great  brass  handles  and  mountings.  Brockel- 
hurst,  the  English  traveller,  who  has  written  an 
interesting  book  on  Mexico,  states  that  he  was 
shown  some  vestments  presented  to  the  Cathe- 
dral by  Isabella  of  Spain  of  great  richness  and 
weight.  My  guide,  at  my  request,  asked  a  padre 
who  chanced  to  be  in  the  sacristy  for  a  sight  of 
them.  The  father  assured  us  in  the  most  posi- 
tive way  that  he  had  seen  what  Brockelhurst 
had  written  about  them,  and  that  it  is  pure 
fiction. 


6S        A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA. 

In  the  afternoon  rode  out  to  the  A rl?o/  di'  la 
Noche  Tristc,  or  "  Tree  of  the  Dismal  Xight," 
where  Cortez,  July  ist,  1521,  being  repulsed  in 
his  attack  on  the  city  and  in  great  danger  of  the 
utter  destruction  of  his  small  force,  sat  down 
and  wept  as  his  men  in  retreat  filed  by  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night.  It  is  a  species  of  cypress 
— the  same  as  the  trees  at  Chapultepec — and  is 
gnarled  and  knotted  into  huge  knobs  at  the  base 
of  the  trunk,  with  a  few  scanty,  straggling 
branches  and  very  little  foliage — looking,  in- 
deed, as  if  it  could  not  live  a  great  many  years 
longer.  An  attempt  to  burn  it  some  few  years 
ago  was  so  nearly  successful  that  an  opening 
was  made  through  it.  It  is  now  protected  by  a 
high  iron  railing,  and  also,  it  is  said,  by  a 
special  policeman,  although  I  saw  nothing  of 
him.  The  place  is  called  Popotla,  and  a  few 
steps  from  the  tree  is  the  quaint  and  mouldering 
church  of  San  Esteban. 

We  rode  alongside  the  aqueduct  which  for  a 
hundred  years  has  brought  from  a  famous 
spring  at  Chapultepec  pure  water  into  the  city, 
and  visited  two  fountains  of  carved  stone,  into 
whose  great  basins  this  water  came  for  the  pub- 
lic use.  Called  on  Mr.  Porch,  our  Consul- 
General  here,  and  subscribed  to  the  American 
hospital  fund.  Looked  into  the  National 
Library    housed    in    the    beautiful    church    San 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        69 

Augustin,  containing-  two  hundred  thousand 
voknnes,  said  to  be  vakiable  and  well  arranged, 
coming  largely  from  the  libraries  of  the  sup- 
pressed religious  orders.  If  so  there  must  be 
much  trash,  I  should  say.  y\lso  to  the  cemetery 
connected  with  the  Church  of  San  Fernando, 
where  is  a  fine  tomb  to  Juarez,  a  Greek  portico, 
and  within,  his  effigy,  the  size  of  life,  reclining 
its  head  in  the  lap  of  a  weeping  figure,  repre- 
senting, I  suppose,  the  Republic — all  done  in 
Italian  marble.  A  light  shower  wetting  the 
pavement  at  4  P.M.  From  our  balcony  saw  a 
beautiful  rainbow. 

February  2^th. — At  8  P.M.  went  by  Mexican 
National  Railroad  across  the  westward  range  of 
mountains  known  as  Las  Cruces  to  Toluca, 
capital  of  the  State  of  Mexico,  situated  in  a 
great  fertile  plain  forty-six  miles  from  the  city. 
At  the  highest  point,  Cima,  we  were  10,280  feet 
above  the  sea.  Yet  these  heights  were  cultivated 
with  the  crops  of  the  plains  below,  and  the  vege- 
tation much  the  same,  with  grass — now  dry 
— to  the  tops  of  the  highest  peaks.  The  views 
up  and  down  are  magnificent  and  beautiful,  and 
the  day  memorable. 

We  dined  at  the  Leon  de  Oro  and  returned 
in  the  afternoon.  At  dinner  drank  my  first  and 
only  glass  of  pulque,  the  lager  beer  of  Mexico. 
It  is  of  the  color  of  thin  buttermilk  and  tastes 


70       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

something  like  it,  with  a  small  addition  of  rot- 
ten egg-.  It  is  made  from  the  fermented  juice 
of  the  maguey  plant,  and  contains  about  the 
same  amount  of  alcohol  as  lager  beer,  from  five 
to  seven  per  cent.  The  maguey  or  centur}- 
plant,  called  also  the  American  aloe,  is  grown 
largely  hereabout,  and  still  more  largel}-  in  the 
districts  to  the  east  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  set 
in  vast  plantations  and  cultivated  with  much 
care,  watched  carefully,  and  when  about  ten 
years  old,  having  been  kept  from  flowering  in 
the  mean  time,  just  at  the  time  of  efflores- 
cence, the  central  stalk  is  cut  out  so  as  to  leave 
a  cavity  into  which  the  abundant  juice  flows. 
This  is  carefully  gathered  twice  a  day  into 
sacks  of  sheep-skins  and  carried  on  the  back  of 
the  universal  donkey  to  the  tenacal  ox  ferment- 
ing-house  on  each  plantation,  mingled  with  a 
due  proportion  of  rotten  curd  left  over  from  a 
previous  fermentation,  poured  on  cow-hides 
with  the  hairy  side  up,  made  into  vats  by  stretch- 
ing them  on  frames,  and  after  fermenting  there 
about  three  hours  is  drawn  into  skin-sacks  or 
barrels  for  shipment  to  the  piilquerias  or  retail 
shops  of  the  capital,  to  be  drunk  within  the  next 
twelve  hours,  after  which  it  becomes  sour  and 
unfit  for  use.  A  pulque  train  comes  in  every 
morning  from  Apam,  fifty  miles  east  of  the 
capital,  and  it  is  said  the  Government  receives 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        7 1 

a  thousand  dollars  a  day  in  duty  and  the  rail- 
roads a  like  sum  in  freight  on  the  pulque  coming 
into  the  city.  It  is  retailed  at  about  five  cents 
a  quart,  is  drunk  almost  universally,  and  for- 
eigners are  said  to  soon  become  fond  of  it  and 
to  find  it  a  healthy  beverage. 

It  was  market-day  in  Toluca,  and  as  many 
as  a  thousand  Indians,  I  should  say,  were  in 
the  market  square,  forming  one  of  the  most 
characteristic  gatherings  of  natives  we  have 
seen.  The  articles  for  sale  were  few  and  simple, 
hats  of  straw,  rebozos  of  cotton,  cheap  pottery, 
etc.,  but  the  chaffering  went  on  with  all  the 
earnestness  and  more  gesticulation  than  on  the 
New  York  Stock  Exchange. 

The  plain  of  Toluca  owes  its  greater  fertility 
to  the  important  stream  of  Rio  Lerma.  To  the 
west  rises  the  Nevado  de  Toluca,  fifteen  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  sea-level,  the  fourth  moun- 
tain in  Mexico,  its  top  shining  with  perpetual 
snow.  It  is  an  extinct  volcano,  and  as  we  left 
the  station  to  return  the  sun  fell  brightly  on  the 
heights  and  peaks  of  the  outer  rim  of  the  old 
crater,  so  that  they  shone  like  the  delectable 
mountains  of  Bunyan's  Pilgrim. 

The  town  has  about  ten  thousand  population, 
and  although  old  has  a  more  modern  look 
than  almost  any  one  we  have  seen.  A  picture  : 
a  great  plain   stretching   away    on   every  side 


Jl        A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA. 

to  meet  purple  mountains  of  fantastic  forms, 
and  westward,  rising-  into  the  clouds,  the  shin- 
ing top  of  the  Nevado  de  Toluca.  Many 
helds,  with  irrigating  rivulets,  and  a  long,  nar- 
row lake.  Many  gray  stone  churches  lifting 
their  3-ellow  domes  into  the  clear,  warm  air. 
Three  native  Mexicans,  one  in  red,  one  in 
blue,  one  in  white,  trudging  along  a  broad, 
dusty  highway,  each  with  a  pannier  on  his  back, 
and  three  burros  ^\m\\'^Y\y  laden.  Near  at  hand, 
in  another  wide  highway  intersecting  the  first, 
a  drove  of  laden  mules  moving  slowl}',  the 
muleteers,  in  many-colored  serapes  and  dusty 
sandals,  following  on  foot. 

The  fertile  land  of  the  plain  is  owned  by  a 
few  rich  proprietors.  In  one  field  I  counted 
seventeen  ploughs  going,  drawn  by  as  many 
yoke  of  oxen  harnessed  by  the  horns.  These 
ploughs,  too,  seemed  to  be  of  Yankee  make, 
but  usually  is  only  a  stick  which  stirs  the  soil 
without  turning  it  over.  As  we  approached  the 
mountains  in  returnmg,  I  saw  clouds  settled 
down  below  the  highest  peaks.  These  had 
lifted  when  we  were  at  the  summit,  but  had  left 
snow  visible  for  a  mile  or  two  and  quite  copious 
rain. 

February  26th. — Drove  out  to  Chapultepec  by 
the  Paseo  de  la  Reforma.  Went  up  to  the  paved 
platform   of  the  second  story  of  the  castle  and 


A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        73 

carefully  looked  from  all  points  of  the  compass 
over  the  broad  valley  of  Mexico.  Grand  moun- 
tains rise  all  about.  The  snowy  heads  of  Popo- 
catapetl  and  Ixtaccihuatl  were  hid  in  clouds. 
It  is  a  grand  and  beautiful  panorama.  The  city 
with  its  great  number  of  domes  and  spires  shone 
in  the  quivering,  hazy  light,  three  miles  away. 
It  does  not  occupy  the  ground  one  would  ex- 
pect a  city  of  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to 
three  hundred  thousand  to  do.  With  more 
than  a  third  of  the  population  of  Brooklyn,  I 
should  not  think  it  covered  more  than  a  sixth  as 
much  ground,  although  its  principal  streets  are 
wider  and  a  large  proportion  of  its  houses  not 
more  than  one  story.  To  the  west  rises  the  ex- 
tinct volcanic  mountain  Ajuisco,  which  must 
have  been  famous  in  its  day  if,  as  our  guide 
stated,  its  lava  had  flowed  almost  to  the  Pacific 
— nigh  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  ! 

Rode  and  walked  among  the  famous  cypress- 
trees  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  said  to  have  been 
of  size  in  the  days  of  Montezuma.  Measured 
the  largest  and  found  it  a  few  inches  short  of 
forty-one  feet  in  circumference.  I  think  it 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  it  ap- 
pears to  have  had  the  upper  part  of  its  stem 
broken  off.  These  avenues  of  hoary  trees  are 
said  to  be  what  is  meant  by  the  "  Halls  of  the 
Montezumas."  Saw  pouring  out  of  the  ground 
6 


74        A   TOUR    IN    MF.XICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

at  the  base  of  the  mound  of  Chapultepec  the  pure 
water  of  a  magnificent  spring,  flowing  now,  it  is 
thought,  as  when  the  Aztec  kings  ruled  in  this 
valley.  It  is  now  pumped  by  steam  up  to  a 
height  sutficient  to  pour  it  into  the  old  open  stone 
aqueduct  wliich  carries  it  into  the  heart  of  the 
cit}'  and  to  the  fountains  1  saw  yesterday. 
There  is  also  a  second  aqueduct  running  back 
into  the  Las  Cruces  Mountains  we  crossed 
yesterday,  and  taking  up  one  of  its  streams  and 
delivering  it  into  the  city.  The  water  of  one  is 
soft,  of  the  other  hard,  and  both  good,  pure 
water,  I  should  think.  Most  of  the  better  sort 
of  houses  in  the  city  have  water  brought  in  by 
pipes.  The  families  of  the  poorer  sort  buy  it  at 
a  low  rate  from  peddlers  or  supply  themselves 
from  the  numerous  fountains. 

Drove  from  Chapultepec  across  to  Tacubaya, 
a  town  of  about  eight  thousand,  said  to  be  the 
handsomest  in  the  valley,  where  are  suburban 
residences  with  charming  gardens,  and  sent  our 
guide  in  to  ask  the  director  of  the  National 
Observatory  about  the  Southern  Cross.  He 
stated  it  came  to  the  meridian  at  1.30  A.M., 
and  could  be  well  seen  at  midnight  in  the 
city.  The  Observatory  is  housed  in  the  ex- 
palace  of  the  archbishop.  Indeed,  the  schools 
of  science  and  art  are  pretty  much  all  in  old 
religious  establishments,  these  haunts  of  bigotry 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        75 

and  superstition  being-  lit  up  and  purged  by  the 
light  of  science,  wherein  is  the  presage  of  a 
better  future  for  this  land. 

Lunched  at  Naylor's  restaurant  near  the 
Cathedral.  He  had  an  English  father,  but  was 
born  here  of  a  Spanish  mother,  and  neither  his 
look,  manner,  nor  cuisine  indicated  his  descent, 
although  he  specially  cultivates  Americans  by 
promises  of  roast  beef  and  mince-pies.  There 
was  a  little  sprinkle  of  rain  this  afternoon  and 
clouds  which  looked  capable  of  much,  but  they 
scattered  ias  usual,  rain  in  any  quantity  being 
among  the  rarest  incidents  now  for  three 
months  to  come. 

I  neglected  to  say  that  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
of  Chapultepec  stands  a  handsome  column 
erected,  as  the  inscription  says,  **  To  the 
Memory  of  the  Cadets  of  the  Mihtary  College 
who  died  as  heroes  die  in  the  North  American 
Invasion."  These  were  mere  lads  who  fell 
fighting  obstinately,  to  the  number  of  forty,  in 
the  defence  of  Chapultepec. 


CHAPTER  XL 

We  visit  the  Methodist  Church — Dine  at  the  Con- 
cordia Restaurant — Witness  a  bull- fight — A  de- 
scription of  the  repulsive  scenes  there  enacted. 

February  2'jth,  Sunday.  — Cloudy  and  cooler, 
but  the  thermometer  in  my  room  does  not  vary 
more  than  three  degrees,  ranging  from  sixt}'- 
four  to  sixty-seven.  This  is  in  a  room  facing 
north,  with  thick  walls,  and  not  much  affected 
by  the  weather  outside.  Attended  service  in 
the  Methodist  Church,  held  by  Bishop  Hirst,  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.  The  Methodists  have  bought  an 
old  convent  and  hold  services  in  what  w^as  the 
chapel,  a  simple  and  severely  handsome  room. 
Took  dinner  at  the  Concordia  Restaurant,  the 
Delmonico  of  Mexico.  My  party  consisted  of 
six  persons.  Had  tomato  soup,  fish  with  pota- 
toes, chicken  fricassee  with  mushrooms,  roast 
beef  with  mashed  potatoes,  lettuce  salad,  ice 
cream,  Roquefort  cheese,  coffee  with  fruit,  the 
meal  well  cooked,  in  a  cool,  quaint  room  of  the 
red-walled  convent,  now  a  restaurant.  Not 
anywhere  else  in  the  city,  from  what  I  could 
learn,  is  a  restaurant  equal  to  so  modest  a  menu 
as  this. 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        'J'] 

Went  in  the  afternoon  to  a  bull-fight  at  the 
Arquitectos  Ring,  opened  to  the  public  last 
Sunday  for  the  first  time.  For  twenty  years 
this  national  amusement  has  been  prohibited 
within  the  city  limits,  but  allowed  again  by  the 
Congress  at  its  last  session.  In  consequence 
this  Ring  is  now  completed  and  opened.  An- 
other is  being  erected  on  the  fashionable  drive 
of  the  Reforma,  and  am  informed  five  permits 
altogether  have  been  granted  for  building  these. 
This  would  seem  to  indicate  a  growing  desire 
for  this  form  of  amusement  ;  and  in  the  Tivo 
Republics  of  this  morning  I  find  the  following  : 
"To-day  is  a  red-letter  day  in  the  history  of 
bull-fighting  in  Mexico,  which  .will  always  be 
talked  of  by  the  numerous  admirers  of  the 
sport.  The  great,  only,  and  famous  Mazzantini 
makes  his  debut  \n  Mexico."  This  is  a  famous 
toreador  who  has  come  from  Spain  to  Puebla, 
where  it  is  said  he  is  to  be  paid  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  for  two  performances.  It  is  said  that 
from  four  to  five  thousand  people  went  from 
here  to  witness  his  performance  to-day  at 
Puebla. 

To  offset  this  attraction,  the  management  of 
the  Arquitectos  Ring  have  obtained  three  Span- 
ish toreadors,  who,  without  the  fame  of  the  illus- 
trious Mazzantini,  are  yet  of  sufficient  renown 
to  create  a  stir  of  expectation,  and  the  red  bill 


^S       A   TOUR    IX    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

of  the  performance  now  before  me  promises  six 
bulls  a  imicrte,  or  clone  to  death,  all  from  the 
"  pen  of  Guadalupe,"  one  of  these  to  be  a  toro 
cmbolado — that  is,  a  bull  who  has  had  his  horns 
sawed  off  and  the  stumps  wrapped  in  flax  so  as 
to  be  harmless,  in  this  condition  to  be  set  upon 
by  all  the  vagabonds  present  who  choose  to 
enter  the  ring  and  tease  him. 

The  Ring  of  Arquitectos  is  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  the  hard 
earth  enclosed  being  perfectly  flat,  smooth,  and 
lightly  sprinkled  with  sand  The  barrier  is 
about  five  and  a  half  feet  high,  stoutly  made  of 
a  frame  of  timber  covered  and  faced  with  jointed 
boards  planed  and  matched,  making  a  perfect 
circle.  Back  of  this  is  a  second  barrier,  with  a 
space  of  some  six  feet  between.  This  is  for 
greater  safety  in  case  the  bull  should  leap  over 
the  first.  Beginning  immediately  behind  this 
second  barrier  rises  a  series  of  seats  one  above 
another,  eight  in  all,  and  extending  round  the 
arena.  Still  above  these  is  a  tier  of  boxes  ex- 
tending round  the  circle  with  back  and  roof, 
but  open  in  front  and  at  the  sides,  each  having 
comfortable  chairs  for  eight.  This  ring  is  said 
to  afford  sitting  and  standing  room  for  sixteen 
thousand  people,  and  I  estimate  about  twelve 
thousand  were  present  to-day. 

At  equal  distances  apart  are  six  retreats  for 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.        79 

the  performers,  consisting  of  a  square  shield  of 
jointed  boards  like  the  barrier— sa}^  five  feet 
each  way — set  out  from  the  barrier  two  feet,  so 
that  when  too  hardl}^  pressed  a  man  can  step  in 
behind  it  and  be  out  of  the  bull's  reach.  At  one 
point  the  barrier  is  pierced  for  two  stout  gates 
opening  inward  to  admit  the  bull,  living,  into  the 
arena,  and  permit  him  to  be  dragged  out  when 
dead.  About  twenty  feet  to  one  side  of  this  is 
a  similar  opening  and  gates  for  the  passage  of 
the  performers — men  and  horses.  Directly  op- 
posite this  last  is  the  box,  distinguished  by  some 
decorations  of  gaudy  strips  of  cotton,  where  the 
judges  sit.  In  the  rear  of  the  boxes,  at  fre- 
quent intervals,  are  staves  from  which  colored 
flags  float,  and  two  military  bands  pla}^  alter- 
nately, stationed  on  the  louver  seats,  equidistant 
from  the  judges'  box  and  the  gates. 

As  the  time  approached  the  vast  crowd  mani- 
fested its  eagerness  by  wild  cries,  stamping  of 
the  feet,  and  that  indescribable  bass  hum  which 
easily  deepens  into  a  roar  and  strikes  one  with 
a  sort  of  awe.  Precisely  at  four  o'clock  the 
doors  opposite  the  judges'  box  were  thrown 
open,  and  in  rich  dresses,  mostly  like  those 
shovvMi  on  the  stage  as  the  court  costumes  of 
three  hundred  years  ago,  came  the  performers 
in  the  following  order  :  First,  the  three  espadas, 
as  they  are  called  on  the  bill,  being  the  same 


So       A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

as  matadors,  marching  abreast,  each  carrying 
in  his  right  hand  a  long,  slender  rapier  with 
which  he  puts  the  bull  to  death,  in  his  left 
a  red  flag,  or  rather,  from  its  shape,  a  sort 
of  mantle.  Next,  the  bander illeros,  three  in 
number,  carrying  darts  wdth  shafts  gaily  decked 
with  knots  of  ribbon,  also  bright  mantles  like 
the  others  ;  then  several  chiilos  and  capas  with 
bright-colored  cloths.  Behind  these,  the  pic- 
adors on  horseback,  three  of  these,  bearing 
long  pikes  with  a  pointed  iron  tw^o  inches 
long  i:et  into  the  end.  Last  came  three  gaily- 
harnessed  mules  abreast,  with  painted  whiffle- 
trees  held  up  and  carried  by  an  attendant  in 
livery. 

This  procession  moved  directly  across  the 
arena  to  the  stand  of  the  judges,  wdiom  they 
saluted  by  doffing  their  hats  and  a  low  obei- 
sance, then  quickly  scattered  themselves  over 
the  arena,  apparently  in  a  disorderly  way, 
but  doubtless  in  regulation  positions  ;  and  the 
other  doors  opening  at  once,  a  black  bull  ap- 
peared, weighing,  I  should  say,  not  more  than 
twelve  hundred  pounds,  looking  civil  enough, 
and  as  if  he  would  like  nothing  so  well  as  to  be 
let  alone.  He  had  evidently  been  operated 
on  to  rouse  him  to  a  show  of  fierceness,  for  a 
slight  stain  of  blood  showed  below  a  great 
rosette  on   one  shoulder,   held  there,  as  could 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        8 1 

easily  be  guessed,  by  a  dart  firmly  stuck  into 
the  flesh. 

As  he  came  iuto  the  arena  he  looked  quietly 
round  in  a  sort  of  wonder  on  the  vast  crowd 
applauding  his  sturdy  appearance,  which  prom- 
ised sport,  and  would  in  all  likelihood  have 
done  nothing  whatever  but  walk  back  to  his  pen 
had  not  ?i picador  rode  close  before  him,  when 
he  lowered  his  horns,  and  in  a  slow,  deliberate 
way  charged  \hQ  picador,  who,  partly  wheeling, 
thrust  his  pike  into  the  bull's  shoulder  and 
sought  to  bear  him  back.  But  the  momentum 
of  the  bull  was  too  great,  and  the  picador  s 
horse,  a  wretched  hack,  was  forced  close  up  to 
the  barrier  and  fell  heavily,  his  rider  tumbling 
in  a  heap  on  the  further  side  from  the  bull,  who 
immediately  fell  back  of  his  own  accord,  being 
at  once  roused  again,  by  shaking  red  cloths 
before  him,  to  chase  the  banderilleros  about  in  a 
lumbering  way.  These  easily  avoided  him  by 
stepping  nimbly  to  one  side,  or  in  some  cases 
dodging  behind  the  w^ooden  shields. 

Again  ?i  picador  crossed  the  bull's  way  and 
was  charged  on  as  before,  but  by  thrusting  the 
point  of  his  pike  into  the  bull's  shoulder  and 
firmly  pressing  on  it,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
moved  his  horse  obliquely  forward,  he  got 
no  harm.  The  first  horse  struck  by  the  bull 
was   got   up,  led   out,  and,  as  1   was  informed, 


82        A    TOUR    IX    MEXICO    AXD    CALIFORNIA. 

shot,  having  been  g-ored  by  the  bull's  horns. 
The  horses  are  covered  by  their  trappings, 
especially  by  a  thick  leathern  shield  covering 
the  entire  hind  half  of  the  body,  which  it  not 
only  ])rotects  from  the  bull's  horns,  but  so  hides 
him  that  little  more  than  the  legs  can  be  seen. 

By  this  time  a  quarter  of  an  hour  had  passed 
since  the  baiting  began  ;  the  bull's  eves  were 
bloodshot,  little  streams  of  blood  came  from 
the  wounds  in  his  shoulders,  and  he  breathed 
heavily.  Then  a  bandcrillcro  came  before  him 
with  a  dart  in  each  hand,  and  hurling  them  both 
at  once  by  a  dexterous  movement,  infixed  them 
in  each  shoulder  and  stepped  lightl}^  aside. 
This  was  really  cleverly  done  and  called  out  a 
roar  of  applause.  This  was  repeated  after  a  few 
seconds,  but  the  tortured  animal  was  not  to  be 
goaded  into  further  demonstrations. 

Then  stepped  to  the  front  the  "  Primer 
Espada  Jose  Machio,"  from  the  great  amphi- 
theatres of  Spain.  He  wore  a  tight-fitting  suit 
of  rich  goods  in  several  colors,  is  a  tall,  fine 
figure  of  a  man,  and  had  his  hair  curiously 
done  up  in  a  club  or  great  knot  on  the  top  of 
his  head.  He  held  a  long,  slender  rapier  in  his 
I'ight  hand,  in  his  left  a  red  cloth,  one  side  of 
which  is  fastened  to  a  rod  so  that  it  is  kept 
displayed.  He  bowed  to  the  judges  and  to  the 
spectators,  who  received  him  with  such  a  greet- 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        83 

ing  as  is  given  to  an  actor  of  fame  making  his 
debut.  He  moved  slowly  toward  the  bull, 
taking  a  position  so  that  the  latter  would  pass 
near  him  when  he  should  be  roused  b}'  the 
capas,  who  sought  to  lead  him  on  by  spreading 
out  their  red  mantles  on  the  ground  before 
him,  and  when  at  last  the  bull  stepped  forward 
the  matador  thrust  at  him,  but  failed  to  hit  him. 
A  hiss  went  up  from  parts  of  the  crowd,  for 
it  is  the  proper  thing  to  kill  at  the  first  stroke. 
The  matador  bowed  with  a  deprecating  gesture,' 
as  much  as  to  say,  "  Be  a  little  patient,  good 
people,  and  you  shall  see  something  yet  worthy 
the  great  Jose  Machio. "  Then  a  second  chance 
offering,  with  a  movement  so  quick  as  hardly  to 
attract  attention  he  thrust  the  long  blade  of  his 
rapier  obliquely  backward  and  downward  to  its 
entire  length,  from  a  point  between  the  shoul- 
der-blades, leaving  it  in  the  wound.  The  bull 
reeled  for  an  instant,  fell  on  his  knees,  slowly 
turned  his  head  with  a  piteous  look  at  the  howl- 
ing mob  around  him,  rose  again  to  his  feet, 
took  half  a  dozen  steps,  and  fell  prone  on  his 
side.  An  attendant  stepped  forward,  thrust  a 
dagger  into  a  vertebra  of  the  neck,  the  har- 
nessed mules  came  gaily  in,  and  with  a  blare  of 
wild  music  from  the  band  he  was  dragged  by 
the  neck  out  at  the  door  he  had  entered  twenty 
minutes    before.      I    left  m}^   box   at    once    and 


84        A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

betook  myself  to  the  street  before  the  next 
bull  was  broiiij;-ht  in,  but  before  I  had  got  out 
of  hearing  a  long,  hoarse  roar  rose  over  the 
advent  of  a  new  victim. 

To  me,  who  love  most  animals,  who  recognize 
in  them  in  a  less  degree  the  emotions  and  many 
of  the  mental  traits,  and  certainly  a  great  share 
of  the  susceptibility  to  pain  of  the  human  race, 
the  spectacle  I  had  just  witnessed  was  inexpres- 
sibly shocking.  That  thousands  of  men,  women, 
and  children  should  gather  to  see  a  poor  animal 
tortured  to  death,  that  such  spectacles  of  bar- 
barity should  constitute  a  national  amusement, 
of  which  all  classes  are  said  to  be  passionately 
fond,  gives  me  a  baser  idea  of  human  nature 
than  has  ever  presented  itself  to  me  before.  I 
cannot  imagine  a  nation  progressing  in  civiliza- 
tion and  greatness  with  a  principal  amusement 
so  savage  and  degrading. 

The  people  filling  the  seats  of  the  amphi- 
theatre seemed  to  be  of  the  average  class  of  citi- 
zens ;  indeed,  there  were  not  many  national 
costumes  to  be  seen — more  Derby  hats  than 
sombreros.  To  be  sure  there  were  at  least  ten 
men  to  one  woman,  but  I  saw  many  boxes  occu- 
pied by  what  a  gentleman  well  acquainted  in 
the  city  assured  me  are  quite  respectable  fami- 
lies, father,  mother,  children,  as  we  see  in  the 
theatres  at  home.     No  countries  except  Spanish 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        85 

countries  have  this  amusement ;  no  nations  are 
so  cruel.  This  horrid  and  disgusting  sport 
seems  natural  to  the  Spanish  portion  of  this 
people. 

On  the  way  to  the  hotel  stopped  at  the  Tivoli 
Gardens,  a  fashionable  resort  where  refresh- 
ments are  served  in  little  arbors,  and  had  with 
one  of  our  interpreters  a  bottle  of  German  beer 
for  one  dollar  and  tw^ent3'-five  cents,  which 
would  cost  perhaps  forty  cents  in  New  York. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

A  ''NortJicr'  and  its  result — A  ride  to  Apizaco — 
We  see  a  pretty  bit  of  scenery — San  Juan  Teoti- 
hiiacan  and  its  tivo  ancient  pyramids — A  brill- 
iant vieiu  of  Ixtaccihuatl  and  Popocatapetl — 
Puebla  and  what  lue  saw  tJiere. 

February  2Zth. — There  is  what  is  called  a 
"  Norther"  prevailing  this  morning,  and  my 
thermometer  shows  a  fall  of  ten  degrees,  show- 
ing fifty-six  degrees  ;  but  I  am  informed  that  out 
of  doors  it  shows  forty-seven  degrees.  At  home 
I  should  certainly  need  a  fire,  and  have  got  out 
my  heavy  overcoat.  All  the  guests  are  com- 
plaining of  the  cold,  but  there  is  not  a  fire  in 
the  great  hotel  or  the  facilities  for  one.  I  said 
to  one  of  our  interpreters  that  it  seemed  to 
me  that  comfortable  citizens  here,  used  to  warm 
weather,  must  feel  such  a  turn  of  chill,  and 
would  hnd  a  fire  in  their  sitting-rooms  quite 
necessary.  His  answer  was  that  the  people  re- 
tire so  late  and  rise  so  late  as  to  escape  a  cold 
morning. 

Betty  showing  signs  of  illness,  I  sent  for  Dr. 
Parsons,  two  years  ago  irom  Cambridge,  near 
Boston,  and  now  at  the  head  of  the  American 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.        8/ 

hospital  here,  who  calls  it  intermittent  fever, 
and  is  giving  two  grains  of  quinine  each  two 
hours. 

Mr.  R.  B.  Lawrence,  of  Medford,  Mass.,  one 
of  our  party.  Secretary  of  the  Appalachian 
Club,  left  here  on  Saturday  by  the  Morelos  Rail- 
road for  Amecanieca,  six  miles  from  the  base  of 
Popocatapetl,  whence  he  rode  fifteen  miles  on 
horseback  to  the  "  Ranch,"  twelve  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  passed  the  night  there, 
and  Sunday  morning,  with  a  party  of  guides, 
attempted  to  reach  the  top.  He  found  the 
heavy  snowfall  of  the  day  before  had  obliter- 
ated all  traces  of  the  paths  and  was  obliged  to 
return. 

March  ist. — Betty  had  high  fever  all  night. 
Arranged  for  copy  of  his  "  Galileo"  with  Pro- 
fessor Felix  Parra.  Dr.  Parsons  decided  Betty 
might  go  to  Puebla  with  the  party,  and  I  ar- 
ranged  with  him  to  go  with  us.  We  brought 
her  down-stairs,  being  quite  weak,  but  fever 
gone.  Went  to  station  of  Vera  Cruz  Rail- 
road in  doctor's  carriage,  and  put  her  directly 
to  bed  in  section  seven  of  Pullman  sleeper 
Holden.  Her  fever  did  not  return.  Rode  on 
Vera  Cruz  Railroad — capital  road — to  Apizaco, 
passing  through  San  Juan  Teotihuacan,  where 
we  saw  the  pyramids  near  at  hand,  Apam,  the 
centre  of  the  pulque  district,  etc. 


88       A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

At  Apizaco  our  train  went  on  a  branch  road 
to  Puebla,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  miles  from 
Mexico,  reaching- it  at  8.30  P.M.,  having  left  Mex- 
ico at  3  r.  M.  The  road  runs  over  a  level  plain, 
well  cultivated,  with  all  aspects  of  nature  and 
man  strange  and  picturesque  and  steeped  in 
colors  of  romance.  Wide  plains,  parched  and 
dusty,  low,  white  villages  with  church-spires 
rising  in  the  pure  air,  and  all  around  such 
mountains  with  such  tints  on  them  as  one  only 
sees  in  pictures  of  the  imagination  done  with 
pen  or  pencil. 

At  San  Juan  Teotihuacan,  twenty-seven  miles 
from  the  city,  are  two  ancient  pyramids,  so 
called,  said  to  have  been  erected  by  the  Toltecs 
in  honor  of  the  sun  and  moon  respectively. 
The  larger — to  the  sun — is  one  hundred  and 
eighty  feet  high  and  six  hundred  and  eighty- 
tw^o  feet  long  at  the  base.  These  are  plainly 
visible  from  the  road,  and  as  we  are  carefully 
to  see  the  fully  more  interesting  one  at  Cholula, 
no  stop  is  made  here. 

As  we  drew  near  Apam,  lo  !  a  spectacle 
memorable  and  magnificent  beyond  words  ! 
The  sun  was  nigh  his  set  in  a  glory  of  color, 
when  the  clouds,  which  whenev^er  I  have 
tried  to  sec  them  obscured  and  hid  the  au- 
gust forms  of  Ixtaccihuatl  and  Popocatapetl, 
parted    and    vanished,    and   nearest   the    \vest, 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        89 

where  the  splendor  was  greatest,  lay,  as  on  a 
gigantic  bier,  the  figure  of  the  ' '  White  Woman, 
her  head  toward  the  sunset,  her  pulseless  bosom 
cold  and  glistening  in  eternal  snow,  and  at 
her  feet  Popocatapetl,  like  a  gigantic  mourner, 
towering  far  above  all  confusion  of  colors  and 
tints  and  accidents  of  earth  into  the  blue  se- 
rene, hooded  and  draped  in  immaculate  white. 
Across  the  plain  to  the  east  of  the  road  rose 
snow-crowned  the  shapely  crag  of  Malinche, 
the  seventh  mountain  in  height  of  Mexico. 

March  2d. — Woke  at  Puebla.  Betty  had  a 
good  night  and  is  free  from  fever  this  morning. 
The  sun  rose  in  a  cloudless  sky,  and  both  Popo- 
catapetl and  Ixtaccihuatl  stood  out  clear  and 
free  of  clouds  from  base  to  summit  on  one 
hand  and  on  the  other  Malinche.  Puebla  is  an 
important  city,  and,  in  the  Mexican  sense,  pros- 
perous. It  is  the  capital  of  the  State  of  the 
same  name  and  contains  seventy  thousand  pop- 
ulation, contesting  with  Leon  the  honor  of  being 
the  second  city  in  the  republic. 

The  Cathedral  is  large  and  fine,  but  I  found 
the  Church  of  San  Francisco  more  to  my  mind 
and  almost  more  interesting  than  any  church  I 
have  seen.  In  the  lavatory  is  a  beautiful  laver 
of  tile  work,  three  bowls  set  in  an  oblong  case 
of  colored  tiles,  themselves  also  made  from  tiles, 
with  a  fountain  above  to  supply  them,  also  in 
7 


90        A   TOUR    I\    MEXICO    AND   CALIFORNIA. 

tiles— all  SO  charming  1  could  have  carried  it 
off  bodily.  Above  hung  a  prayer  in  Latin,  to 
the  effect  that  God  would  grant  clean  hands 
and  strong,  with  a  pure  heart,  to  do  His  work 
and  will.     The  altar  is  a  beautiful  one. 

In  the  tabernacle  is  kept  the  image  of  Nuestra 
Seiiora  de  los  Remedios,  also  called  La  Con- 
questadora,  a  little  figure  carved  in  wood,  say 
eight  inches  tall,  with  a  tiny  baby  on  its  arm, 
said  to  have  been  presented  by  Cortez  to  an 
Indian  ally.  It  is  said  that  the  identity  of  the 
image  is  shown  by  documents.  The  wooden 
stalls  in  the  choir  are  finely  carved,  and  such  a 
quaint  old  organ  !  There  are  warm  sulphur 
baths  here  amply  supplied  from  a  big  spring  of 
tepid  water. 

In  the  evening  went  to  the  School  of  Meteor- 
ology, located,  as  most  institutions  of  learning 
are,  in  a  secularized  convent,  to  see  the  Southern 
Cross.  Went  up  on  the  brick  roof  by  the  light 
of  a  lantern  and  remained  three  hours,  but  clouds 
hindered.  There  was  a  moon,  and  the  long 
stretches  of  flat  roofs  sw^elling  into  domes  and 
various  convexities  to  conform  to  the  arched 
ceilings  below  — the  space  included  originally  in 
the  convent  walls  was  not  less  than  a  Brooklyn 
block — the  dusty  courts  below  with  fountains 
and  trees,  the  tall  Cathedral  towers,  the  sky 
mottled  with  broken  masses  of  clouds,  the  con- 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.        9 1 

stant  clangor  of  bells  all  over  the  city,  made  an 
impressive  scene.  More  than  half  of  the  space 
of  this  city  was  occupied  by  the  various  ec- 
clesiastic establishments,  many  of  enormous 
size. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

A  ride  to  Chohila  and  something  abotit  it  and  its 
pyramid — The  Franciscan  Monastery — Pleasant 
cogitations — We  set  off  for  Tlaseala  afid  visit  its 
Governor —  The  old  CJmrcJi  of  San  Francisco —  The 
descent  to  the  Tierras  Calientes — We  linger  at 
Orizaba  arid  enjoy  its  many  beauties — Start  for 
Mexico  City — A  fine  view  of  the  Southern  Cross. 

March  3<^. — In  the  morning  went  by  tramway 
to  Cholula.  Exceedingly  interesting  ride  of 
eight  miles  across  the  charming  valley  of  the 
Atoyac.  The  broad  fields  more  fertile  by  rea- 
son of  more  water  ;  everywhere  in  sight  objects 
of  artistic  and  poetic  interest  ;  gray  arches  of 
aqueducts  and  bridges  ;  towers  and  crosses  of 
old,  worn  stone  ;  churches  with  colored  facades 
and  domes  ;  all  around  clear-cut,  multiform 
mountains  ;  and  central  figure  in  the  land- 
scape the  Church  of  Nuestra  de  los  Remedios 
towering  from  the  pyramid  of  Cholula,  on  the 
razed  top  of  which  it  stands  two  hundred  and 
four  feet  above  the  level  plain. 

The  general  form  of  the  mound  is  pyramidal, 
but  through  the  changes  made  by  the  hand  of 
time   and    man    and    the    confusion    of    outline 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.        03 

wrought  by  a  quite  heavy  growth  of  trees  and 
bushes  all  up  and  down  its  sides,  I  could  myself 
see  few  marks  of  an  artificial  structure.  The 
Spaniards  cut  the  top  off,  and  a  broad,  easy 
stairway  of  stone  winds  up  to  the  paved  plat- 
form on  which  the  church  stands,  just  as  it 
might  have  done  on  any  natural  mound  rising 
sharply  out  of  the  plain. 

About  half  a  mile  away  is  a  cone  of  rather 
similar  shape  and  greater  height,  and  one  won- 
ders how  any  race  could  take  up  the  notion 
of  erecting  a  huge  artificial  structure  requiring 
prodigious  labor,  when  right  at  hand  is  a  "  high 
place"  ready  made  for  worship  or  other  use. 
I  could  see  no  place  whence  such  an  enormous 
bulk  of  earth  could  have  been  taken,  for  this 
mass  is  now  one  thousand  feet  at  the  base,  and 
its  razed  top  is  a  platform  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  feet  square,  at  a  height  of  two  hun- 
dred and  four  feet.  Still,  learned  writers  think 
that  this  hill  is  artificial,  was  once  terraced  and 
built  on,  forming  a  pueblo  or  village  on  its 
sides,  with  a  teocallis  or  temple  on  top. 

Cholula,  said  to  have  been  a  great  city  when 
first  reached  by  the  Spaniards,  is  now  a  strag- 
gling village  of,  one  would  think,  two  or  three 
thousand  souls.  It  has  a  forlorn  look  now, 
but  its  churches,  standing  and  in  ruins,  in- 
dicate important  religious  establishments   here 


94        A    TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

at  some  time.  The  remains  of  the  old  Francis- 
can Monastery  fronting  the  plaza,  with  the 
churches  and  gardens  and  closes  connected, 
make  the  most  delightful  subjects  for  the  paint- 
er ;  and  I  would  undertake  to  easily  furnish 
half  a  dozen  water-colorists  with  bits  of  this  one 
huge  pile  enough  to  make  them  a  successful 
season  in  the  exhibitions. 

This  monastery  was  founded  in  1529;  and 
what  lives  of  huge  satisfaction  the  old  monks 
must  have  led  here  for  more  than  three  hundred 
years,  away  from  all  turmoil  of  the  world,  their 
existence  almost  hidden,  no  troublesome  Prot- 
estant to  fret,  no  prying  interviewer  to  report, 
tithes  duly  paid,  garden  and  glebe  duly  worked 
by  dusky  peons,  all  days  bright  with  sunshine 
and  sweet  with  flowers,  all  nights  lulled  by  the 
nightingales,  from  all  parts  of  the  fair  plain, 
stretching  away  on  every  hand  to  the  great  hills, 
the  music  of  sweet  chapel  bells,  great  Popocata- 
petl  and  Ixtaccihuatl  pointing  to  heaven  with 
shining  fingers  ! 

After  dining  in  the  car  as  usual  went  by  tram- 
way to  Tlascala.  Population  four  thousand, 
and  capital  of  the  little  state  of  same  name. 
Pass  through  Santa  Ana,  where  is  a  most 
charming  little  church  with  a  fine  bell-tower  on 
one  side  of  the  front  and  a  clock-tower  on  the 
other.     The  Tlascalans  became  allies  of  Cortez 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        95 

on  his  way  to  Mexico,  and  by  their  help  he  cap- 
tured that  city.  Consequent!}'  he  favored 
them,  and  in  the  municipal  building  are  shown 
tokens  of  it,  such  as  a  handsomely  illuminated 
parchment  conveying  a  grant  of  arms  to  Tlas- 
cala,  signed  by  Charles  Fifth,  the  standard 
given  by  Cortez  to  the  Tlascalan  chiefs,  the 
robes  they  wore  when  baptized,  etc. 

We  filed,  by  invitation,  into  the  Governor's 
reception-room,  where  we  understood  we  should 
be  received  by  him,  but  word  was  brought  that 
his  Excellency  was  unwell  and  not  able  to  pre- 
sent himself.  So  it  was  thought  to  be  the  thing 
that  one  of  our  party  should  call  on  him  in  his 
sick-room — this  was  suggested  by  his  secretary 
— and  report  to  the  party  what  the  Governor 
was  like  and  other  particulars.  I  was  chosen 
to  represent  the  party,  and  was  ushered  into  a 
suite  of  rooms  connecting  with  the  reception- 
room,  where  I  was  cordially  received  b}'  his 
Excellency  of  Tlascala,  who  was  fully  dressed 
and  walking  about  smoking  a  cigarette,  showing 
no  marks  of  illness.  A  little  dappled  fawn  was 
disporting  itself  as  a  household  pet  through  the 
rooms.  The  Governor  is  a  full-blooded  Indian 
of  the  same  race  as  Juarez,  with  a  strong  and 
not  unkindly  face.  Through  Signor  Rivaroll, 
our  principal  interpreter,  he  expressed  his 
pleasure  that  our  party  had  visited  his  city,  and 


96       A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

his  regret  that  he  could  not  personally  show  it 
some  attention,  and  wished  us  a  pleasant  stay 
and  prosperous  journey.  I  replied  that  his 
friendly  sentiments  and  good  wishes  were  cor- 
dially reciprocated,  and  took  leave  with  much 
hand-shaking.  Passing  through  the  room  be- 
tween the  presence  and  the  reception-room,  a 
room  with  no  bed  in  it,  and  seeming  to  be  an 
ante-chamber  to  his  Excellency's  private  apart- 
ment, I  noticed  a  handsomely  decorated  utensil 
not  commonly  given  a  place  of  honor  standing 
conspicuously  on  an  inlaid  stand  as  if  an  article 
of  ornament.  Senora  Prospero  Cahuantzl  may 
not  have  advanced  as  far  in  aestheticism  as  her 
august  spouse  in  politics.  I  reported  to  our 
party  that  his  Excellency  was  a  kindly  man,  not 
so  ill-looking  as  his  portrait  hanging  on  the  wall 
of  the  reception-room  would  indicate,  that  he 
wished  the  Raymond  excursionists  well,  and 
did  not  intend  either  to  roast  or  scalp  the 
members  of  it  at  this  time. 

Visited  the  old  Church  of  San  Francisco, 
dating  from  1521.  It  stands  on  a  terraced 
hillside,  and  is  approached  by  a  wide  ])aved 
way  bordered  by  a  double  row  of  old  trees, 
and  under  a  triple  archway  that  unites  the  bell- 
to  wcr  with  the  convent,  now  used  as  a  barrack. 
The  roof  is  upheld  by  richly  carved  red-cedar 
rafters    and    beams.     There   is    a   beautiful   old 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        97 

altar.  In  a  chapel  opening  from  the  church  is 
the  stone  pulpit  from  vvhich  the  Christian  faith 
was,  it  is  said,  first  preached  in  the  new  world, 
as  an  inscription  declares.  There  is  also  shown 
the  font  in  which  the  four  Tlascalan  chiefs 
whose  portraits  are  in  the  Casa  Municipal  are 
said  to  have  been  baptized  in  1520.  Here  is  an 
Ecce  Homo  of  the  most  revolting  description. 
A  life-size  image  of  Christ  is  lying  in  a  half- 
prostrate  and  most  painful  position  with  a  score 
of  bloody  wounds,  so  that  it  is  almost  bathed  in 
blood,  the  flesh  worn  through  to  the  apparent 
bone  at  several  points,  about  the  neck  a  long 
rope,  stained  too  with  blood,  making  altogether 
an  object  so  repulsive  that  it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  even  the  lowest  order  of  mind  can 
feel  anything  but  utter  loathing  at  the  sight 
of  it. 

Our  train  ran  back  from  Puebla,  which  is  on 
a  branch  line  of  the  Mexican  Railroad,  to 
Apizaco.  thence  on  the  direct  line  to  Esperanza, 
Avhere  we  lay  (March  4th)  until  eight  o'clock, 
the  glorious  cone  of  Orizaba  rising  free  from 
clouds.  Here  we  left  our  Puhman  cars,  all 
except  the  dining-car  being  too  long  for  I  he 
curves  on  the  road  down  the  mountain,  and 
taking  the  day  coaches  of  the  Mexican  Rail- 
road, began  the  wonderful  descent  from  the 
table-land    to   the    coast,    at    Boca    del    Monte 


98        A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

("  Mouth  of  the  Mountain";,  the  next  station 
below  Esperanza.  Tliis  is  a  few  feet  short  of 
ei<^ht  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  gulf. 
At  Maltrata,  just  below,  so  that  we  look  sheer 
down  on  it,  although  twelve  and  a  half  miles 
distant,  as  the  road  winds  and  doubles  on  itself, 
2374  feet  of  descent  has  been  made,  and-  at 
Orizaba,  twelve  miles  further  on,  fifteen  hun- 
dred feet  more,  and  at  Paso  del  Macho,  forty- 
five  miles  from  Vera  Cruz  and  two  hundred  and 
sixteen  miles  from  the  City  of  Mexico,  the 
furthest  point  reached,  we  are  within  1560  feet 
of  the  sea-level,  having  descended  6364  feet  in 
fifty-six  miles. 

This  road  from  Orizaba  to  Esperanza  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  marvels  of  engineering. 
The  engine  used  is  called  the  Fairlie,  a  "  double- 
ender,"  giving  the  force  of  two.  We  had  an 
exceptionally  fine  day  down.  For  several  days 
before  a  "  Norther"  had  prevailed  from  the 
direction  of  the  Gulf,  fiUing  the  mountains 
with  fog,  but  to-day  all  was  clear  and  beautiful 
in  sky  and  air.  Before  reaching  Orizaba  the 
mountain  of  that  name  shone  out  grandly.  It 
is  something  over  seventeen  thousand  feet  high, 
and  at  this  point  we  were  thirteen  thousand 
feet  below  its  top.  The  scenery  all  the  way  . 
down  is  exceedingly  gi-and.  The  track  de- 
scends the  steep  grades  by  winding  down  along 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.        99 

shelves  on  the  mountain-sides,  whence  are  seen 
far  below,  green  vales  running  sharply  to  an 
end  in  the  hollows  of  great  hills  clad  in  verdure 
to  their  very  tops,  sunless  ravines  at  dizzy 
depths  below  with  the  fiash  of  a  cascade  here 
and  there  out  of  the  gloom,  lofty  mountain- 
peaks,  also  verdure-clad,  little  smiling  plats  and 
broader  levels  of  cultivated  land  laid  out  in 
little  squares,  of  alternate  green  and  brown,  like 
a  chess-board,  on  which  w^e  look  down  almost 
perpendicularly,  as,  emerging  from  a  tunnel, 
we  crawl  over  an  iron  bridge  so  slender,  across 
a  gorgs  so  deep,  that  we  seem  suspended  in 
mid-air. 

At  Maltrata,  w^hich  we  approach  on  three 
sides  before  coming  to  the  station,  a  great  va- 
riety of  fruit  is  brought  by  Mexican  girls  and 
offered  at  small  prices— pineapples  at  ten  cents 
each,  and  Avoven  baskets,  costing  twenty-five 
cents  at  home,  holding  more  than  a  peck  of  fine 
oranges,  at  twenty-five  cents,  basket  and  all. 

From  Orizaba  w^e  continue  to  descend  among 
tropical  vegetation  to  Paso  del  iSIacho,  whence 
we  return  to  Orizaba,  where  we  remain  an  hour. 
Below  this  point,  in  a  deep  cut,  a  transverse 
tunnel,  with  just  room  enough  to  walk,  leads  to 
an  open  space  with  abundant  vegetation  and 
a  beautiful  cascade  of  a  good  deal  of  water 
falling  say  twenty-five  feet  into   a  wide  basin, 


lOO     A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO    AND   CALIFORNIA. 

and  at  the  hour  we  saw  it  a  rainbow  on  the 
mist  near  the  bottom — a  charming-  sight.  It 
is  said  the  water  comes  from  a  subterranean 
source,  and,  after  falling,  again  disappears,  but 
I  could  not  determine  this. 

Orizaba  is  delightfully  situated,  and  were  I 
compelled  to  live  in  Mexico  would  be  the  spot 
I  should  choose  out  of  all  I  have  seen.  It  is 
midway  between  the  table-land  and  coast  in 
altitude,  and  has  the  temperate  advantages  of 
both.  The  climate  is  said  to  be  delightful  all 
the  year  round,  and  the  wealthy  from  Vera 
Cruz  come  here  to  escape  the  heat  of  the  coast. 
The  huge  mountains  which  shut  it  in  have  a 
kindly,  sheltering  look  and  smile  with  green  to 
their  summits,  and  the  fertile  plain  winds  in 
and  out  among  their  feet  and  runs  up  into  their 
ravines  in  the  most  pastoral  and  charming 
way. 

We  rode  out  into  the  country  through  or- 
ange groves  and  coffee  plantations — luxuriant 
growths — through  which  wind  sweet-scented 
lanes  bordered  with  many  strange  and  beautiful 
flowers.  Here  grow  maize,  tobacco,  wheat, 
barley,  coffee,  sugar-cane,  pineapples,  bananas, 
oranges,  lemons,  limes,  pomegranates,  mangoes, 
tumas,  graneditas,  pitayas,  aguacatcs,  chir- 
rimoyas,  granadas,  mameys,  zapotes,  chicos,  and 
I  know  not  what  beside,  and  of  course  all  the 


A   TOUR   IX   MEXICO   AXD   C^LFQRXIA.      10 1 

common  vegetables.  Tobacco  I  noticed  large- 
ly cultivated  up  from  Orizaba  for  several  miles. 
Climbed  up  to  Esperanza  and  regained  our 
own  train,  and  leaving  that  station  at  one 
o'clock  A.M.,  reached  ^Mexico,  on  our  return,  at 
eight  the  same  morning.  As  the  train  left 
Esperanza  I  awoke  and  had  a  full  and  fine  view 
of  the  Southern  Cross,  then  near  the  meridian. 
Its  head  was  about  twenty  degrees  above  the 
southern  horizon.  It  is  not  to  be  compared  to 
the  constellations  which  blaze  in  our  northern 
winter  skies.  The  Mexican  Railroad  was  built 
b}^  English  money  and  engineers,  and  is  solid 
and  stanch  like  John  Bull  himself.  The  road- 
bed— a  single  track — is,  I  should  say,  not  ex- 
celled by  an}'  one  I  ever  rode  on,  and  nothing 
short  of  the  sturdiest  pluck  and  skill  could  have 
contrived  a  way  to  lift  trains  from  the  low  to 
the  high  regions  up  through  these  lofty  moun- 
tains. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Itiirbidc  Hotel  and  its  cJieerlessness — A  chilly 
day — A  paragrapJi  about  the  bull-fight — A  visit 
to  the  Cathedral  and  a  description  of  its  interior 
and  its  devotees — Take  leave  of  Mexico  witJi 
a  few  remarks  on  its  past  and  present  govern- 
uicnt—A  ride  through  many  places  of  interest. 

March  ^th. — Breakfasted  in  car,  and  went  to 
the  Iturbide,  a  chill,  cheerless  prison  of  a  hotel, 
and  the  Cafe  Anglais,  a  dirty,  tiresome  eating- 
house.  We  liv'C  better  on  the  train  than  any- 
where we  stop.  There  was  shower  enough 
last  night  to  wet  the  streets  quite  thoroughly. 
All  say  this  is  unusual,  and  speak,  too,  of  the 
cold,  which,  night  and  morning,  is  so  consider- 
able that  at  home  we  should  not  think  of  doing 
without  fires.  There  is  a  special  chill  in  the 
sunless  rooms  of  this  hotel.  One  of  the  resfula- 
tions  staring  at  me  every  time  I  pass  along  the 
stone  hall  is  worth  preserving  : 

*'Art.  ^th.  No  lodger  is  entitled  to  harbor  one 
or  more  persons  in  his  room  or  apartment  with- 
out having  first  settled  with  the  manager  the 
sum  he  is  to  pay  for  the  hiring  of  each  of  the 
extra  beds  which  are  to  be  afforded  to  the  per- 


A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.      I03 

sons  whom  he  has  been  willing  to  host.  This 
letting  may  be  bargained  Avith  the  manager 
either  by  days,  fortnights,  or  months,  and  as  to 
the  way  of  paying,  the  same  course  will  be  kept 
as  concerning  the  payment  for  the  letting  of 
rooms  or  apartments." 

The  mercury  showed  forty-seven  degrees  at 
8  A.M.  The  sun's  rays  are  hot  when  they  act 
directly,  but  in  the  shade  it  is  chilly.  The 
people  do  not  act  as  if  they  cared  for  the  cold, 
but  must  feel  it,  and  Dr.  Parsons  informs  me 
that  in  this  unhealthiest  city  in  the  world  pul- 
monary diseases  head  the  list — not  chronic,  but 
acute — and  among  what  he  calls  the  "  barefoot 
people."  Spent  some  hours  in  the  tiresome 
business  of  selecting  photographs  at  Spauld- 
ing's. 

Apropos  of  bull-fighting,  I  quote  from  the 
Tivo  Republics  of  Monday  last  a  paragraph 
of  an  article  relating  to  the  toreador  Maz- 
zantini,  already  alluded  to — he  acted  at  Puebla 
last  Sunday  :  "  As  soon  as  Mazzantini  made  his 
appearance  he  was  greeted  by  unstinted  ap- 
plause from  fifteen  thousand  throats.  Governor 
Marquez  presided  over  the  entertainment. 
Mazzantini's  neat  and  effective  work  called  out 
applause  ranging  from  a  Comanche  yell  to  a  new 
silk  hat.  Everything  proceeded  as  smooth  as 
an  opera,  and  as  the  last  bull  staggered  in  his 


104     '^    TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

tracks  the  crowd  filed  out  with  vhas  upon  vivas 
for  Mazzantini.  In  the  evening  the  king  of  the 
bull-fighters  was  tendered  a  serenade  b}'  his 
admirers."  I  noticed  two  large  rings  well 
under  way  on  the  Avenue  de  la  Reforma,  mak- 
ing, with  the  one  where  I  went  last  Sunday, 
three  within  the  city  limits. 

Maj'cJi  6th,  Sunday. — Went  to  the  Cathedral 
to  mass  at  lo  a.m.  The  enormous  space  was 
well  filled  with  worshippers  crowded  closely 
here  and  there  about  the  main  altar,  the  Altar 
of  Pardon,  and  the  favorite  shrines.  Such 
groups  !  It  seems  to  me  that  in  no  land  under 
heaven  can,  in  this  age,  so  heterogeneous, 
strange,  and  picturesque  a  throng  be  gathered 
together  in  any  great  church.  Kneeling  fa- 
miliarly side  by  side,  without  the  least  aversion 
on  the  one  hand  or  avoidance  on  the  other, 
were  well-clad  ladies  and  gentlemen  and  the 
vilest  beggars  in  parti-colored  rags,  stately 
seiloras  and  senoritas  with  glorious  eyes  and 
proud  bearing,  kissing  the  floor  before  some 
shrine  where  an  instant  before  the  dirty,  naked 
foot  or  dirtier  sandal  of  many  a  peasant  from 
the  country  round  or  the  poor  of  the  city  had 
pressed  !  I  saw  a  well-dressed  Spaniard  in 
English  clothes  interrupt  his  prayers  to  kiss  the 
floor,  and  noticing  that  he  so  caressed  it  with 
his  lips  as  to  leave  a  moist  spot,  I  was  interested 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.      I05 

to  count,  and  found  he  alread}^  had  made  twenty- 
seven,  and  while   I   observ^ed   he  increased  the 
number   to   thirty.     The  stately  figures  of  the 
swarthy  and  haughty  ecclesiastics  in  their  gor- 
geous vestments  of  gold   and   blue  and  purple 
formed  a  pleasing  picture  grouped    about   the 
great  altar  with  their  robed  attendants,  clouds 
of    perfume    from    the    swinging  silver  censers 
slowly  fining  all  the  air.     Nothing  could  exceed 
the  fervor  of  the  worshippers.     Before  the  altar- 
railings  of  the  numerous  chapels  on  each  side  of 
the  Cathedral  were  kneeling  groups  frequently 
praj^ing  with  passionate  gesticulation,  and  fond 
looks  directed  to   the   tutelar  saint  carved  or 
painted   above  the  altar,   in  all  the  ecstasy  of 
adoration.     In  each  of  the  many  confessionals 
of  dark  mahogany  clamped   with   brass   sat   a 
priest  with  ear  inclined  to  the  little  grated  open- 
ing at  which  kneeling  penitents  whispered  their 
confessions,   with  kneeling  rows  behind    them, 
mostly  women,  patiently  waiting  their  turn.     As 
one  venerable  priest,   aged  and  wrinkled,   tot- 
tered  to  his  seat  in  the    confessional,   several 
well-dressed  and  handsome  Spanish  ladies  who 
were  waiting  for  him  came  forward,  and   with 
respectful  tenderness  saluted  him  by  taking  his 
hand,  bending  low  and  kissing  it  long  and  fer- 
vently. 

The  dominion  of  the  Church  in  Mexico  was 
S 


Io6     A    TOUR    IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA. 

\vell-niti:h  absolute  from  the  time  of  the  con- 
quest,  without  check  or  impediment,  until  the 
severe  shock  it  sustained  through  Juarez  in  1861, 
who  procured  the  secularization  of  all  Church 
property,  the  disbanding  and  unhousing  of  all 
religious  orders  and  societies  of  every  kind 
W'hatsoever,  including  even  the  Sisters  of 
Charity,  and  the  introduction  of  religious  toler- 
ation and  the  equality  of  all  sects  before  tlie  law. 
Up  to  that  time  more  than  one  half  the  wealth 
of  the  republic  w^as  owned  by  the  Church,  and 
as  it  always  opposed  all  movements  in  favor  of 
greater  liberty,  it  was  all  through  the  trying 
years  of  the  change  from  monarchy  to  democ- 
racy the  most  serious  obstacle  to  success. 

Richard  H.  Dana,  in  his  "  T\vo  Years  Before 
the  Mast,"  relates  that  in  1834  no  one  could  ex- 
pect to  live  in  Mexico  and  do  business  unless  he 
was  a  Catholic,  and  previous  to  that  time,  in  any 
town  or  city,  the  stranger  wdio  should  fail  to 
drop  on  his  knees  w^ith  uncovered  head  when  a 
procession  passed  would  have  been  pretty  sure 
of  being  mobbed  by  the  populace.  Now  proces- 
sions are  forbidden  in  the  streets,  nor  can  any 
ecclesiastic  appear  abroad  in  clerical  garb.  The 
priests  have  been  deprived  of  a  great  body  of 
their  sacerdotal  functions — even  their  marriages 
are  not  legal  unless  accompanied  by  civil  sanc- 
tion, and  so  absolutelv  has  the  State  possessed 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      107 

itself  of  all  ecclesiastical  property  that  even  the 
churches  proper  are  occupied  by  their  congre- 
gations as  tenants  at  will. 

Rode  on  the  Paseo  with  Betty  from  four  to 
six,  the  fashionable  hours.  The  pavement  is 
watered  by  porters  who  dash  jars  of  water  over 
it  in  a  dexterous  way  from  the  bordering 
ditches,  and  with  their  broad  straw  hats,  white 
tunics,  and  trousers  rolled  well  up  over  their 
handsome  bronze  legs,  make  a  not  unpleasing 
feature  of  the  promenade. 

MarcJi'/th. — A.M.  made  some  purchases.  At 
5  P.M.  left  fair  Mexico  City  b}^  the  Mexican 
Central,  on  our  return  to  El  Paso.  On  taking 
leave  of  our  most  interesting  sister  republic, 
one  cannot  help  wondering  Avhat  its  future 
is  likely  to  be.  It  does  not  seem  easy  to  fore- 
cast it.  While  nominally  a  republic  with  a  con- 
stitution modelled  upon  that  of  the  United 
States,  Mexico  is  really  a  military  oligarchy, 
the  head  of  which  is  a  President  backed  by 
an  army  of  sixty  thousand  men  and  supported 
by  a  compact  body  of  from  four  to  six  thousand 
landholders,  who  possess  nearly  all  the  land  of 
the  republic,  keep  it  free  from  taxation,  and 
hold  the  laborers  b}^  a  modified  form  of  peonage 
in  almost  as  complete  servitude  as  their  ances- 
tors were  under  Spanish  rule. 

The  Congress  really  chosen   by  government 


I08     A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

inrtuencc  is  the  creature  of  the  executive  will, 
and  is  in  no  sense  the  representative  of  the  ten 
millions  of  people,  who  take,  for  the  most  part, 
no  interest  whatever  in  public  affairs.  The 
presidencv  has  been  the  prize  of  ambitious  gen- 
erals and  warring  factions,  and  since  its  separa- 
tion from  Spain,  in  1821,  Mexico  has  had  fifty- 
five  presidents,  two  emperors,  and  one  regency  ! 
Not  until  1848  was  the  presidency  peaceably 
transferred.  At  that  time.  General  Arista  suc- 
ceeded General  Herrera  without  violence  ;  but 
Arista  was  banished  two  years  after,  and  within 
three  months  there  were  four  presidents. 

Pretty  much  all  the  great  leaders  in  the  war 
of  independence  were  put  to  death  by  their  own 
people,  so  were  both  emperors  and  two  presi- 
dents, while  most  of  the  others  were  either  ban- 
ished or  obliged  to  go  into  exile  to  save  their 
lives.  Ex-President  Gonzales,  who  at  the  end 
of  his  term  peacefully  gave  place  to  his  succes- 
sor, General  Diaz,  now  President,  is  said  to 
have  taken  the  ofifice  in  debt  and  to  have  retired 
at  the  end  of  one  term  worth  anywhere  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  million  dollars. 

The  political  career  of  General  Diaz  well 
illustrates  my  meaning.  He  was  distinguished 
in  the  army,  was  General-in-Chief  of  the  force 
which  recovered  the  capital  from  Maximilian  in 
1866,    offered    himself   as   a   candidate    for   the 


A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO    AND    CALII-ORNIA.      IO9 

presidenc}^  in  1871,  was  defeated  by  Juarez,  re- 
fused to  accept  the  result  because,  as  he  held, 
the  re-election  of  a  president  was  unconstitu- 
tional, issued  a  manifesto,  raised  a  force,  and 
after  a  sanguinary  war  of  several  months  was 
fully  defeated,  was  amnestied,  lived  peacefully 
at  the  capital  until  1876,  then  rebelled  against 
Lerdo,  who  became  President  on  the  death  of 
Juarez,  defeated  him,  captured  the  capital, 
assumed  the  presidency,  and  had  these  lawless 
proceedings  ratified  by  a  so-called  popular  elec- 
tion. It  is  said  he  will  not  voluntarily  give  up 
his  office.  He  is  a  man  of  ability,  is  believed 
really  to  have  the  good  of  his  country  at  heart, 
is  liberal  in  his  views,  encourages  enterprises, 
education,  the  arts  ;  and  many  whom  I  con- 
versed with  insisted  he  is  the  best  of  the  presi- 
dents, and  gives  as  good  a  government  as  the 
condition  of  affairs  will  permit. 

The  people  are  poor,  and  the  natural  resources 
of  the  countr3^  not  as  great  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed, imperfectly  developed.  Spain,  through 
its  viceroys,  kept  it  impoverished  by  an  in- 
genious and  exhaustive  system  of  taxation,  the 
Church  clutched  the  greater  part  of  what 
remained,  during  the  bloody  wars  for  indepen- 
dence and  the  civil  strifes  which  followed  law- 
lessness and  brigandage  prevailed,  wealth  for- 
sook the  country,  industries  and  improvements 


no     A    TOUR    IX    MEXICO    AXD   CALIFORXIA. 

were  laid  waste,  and,  lastly,  a  neighboring  re- 
public, as  the  result  of  what  I  regard  as  a  most 
unjust  war,  seized  by  the  strong  hand  the  richest 
half  of  its  territory  and  left  the  remainder  im- 
poverished, torn,  and  bleeding. 

One  third  of  its  population  of  ten  millions  are 
native  Indians  of  unmixed  blood,  speaking  the 
language  of  their  fathers,  living  as  the}^  lived, 
and,  except  in  some  notable  instances,  without 
aspirations  for  anything  better,  apathetic,  in- 
offensive, contented.  A  million  or  so  are  of 
European  blood,  the  Spanish  greatly  predom- 
inating, the  remainder  of  Spanish  and  Indian 
blood  mingled  confusedly  in  all  degrees.  These 
things  do  not  promise  well,  yet  there  is  a  na- 
tional life  and  positive  progress.  The  stifling 
grasp  of  the  Church  is  loosened  from  the  repub- 
lic's throat.  Science  and  the  arts  have  a  sure 
footing  and  a  free  growth,  education  spreads, 
and  presages  of  a  better  future  abound.  Surely 
in  all  these  aspirations  our  strong  nation  might 
well  aid  a  sister  republic,  its  next  neighbor, 
struggling  toward  light  and  freedom. 

March  8///. — Woke  at  Silao.  Rode  steadily 
all  day  in  the  dust  and  heat.  Mercury  showed 
seventy-eight  degrees  on  the  shady  side  of  the 
car  at  3  p.m.  Had  fine  views  of  Zacatecas  and 
Guadalupe  from  the  hill  as  we  approached 
them.     Some  one  found  a  copy  of  the  El  Paso 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      Ill 

Times  of  the  6th  having  a  telegram  from  New 
York,  dated  the  5th  iiist.,  that  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  had  a  stroke  of  apoplexy  and  ^v'Ould 
not  probably  recover. 

March  9///.  — Woke  at  Lerdo  on  the  southern 
border  of  the  long  strip  of  desert.  Bought  a 
basket  of  strawberries  and  hulled  them  for 
breakfast.  A  hot,  dusty,  dreary  ride  all  day. 
Reached  Chihuahua  at  7  P.M.  and  El  Paso  at 
9  A.M. 

March  io//>.— After  slight  examination  of  bag- 
gage and  waiting  all  day,  left  for  California  at 
7  P.M.  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway,  and 
rode  all  night. 

March  11///.— Woke  at  a  little  station  in  the 
desert  land  of  Arizona,  reaching  Tucson  at 
9  A.M.,  where  we  remained  two  hours,  then  on 
over  the  most  dreary  country  one  can  imagine. 
Heat  at  3  p.m.  ninety  degrees.  Dust  and 
dreariness,  and  drouth  everywhere.  At  6  p.m. 
reached  Yuma,  on  the  Colorado  River,  here 
about  ten  rods  wide  as  seen  by  moonhght,  and 
navigable  for  small  steamboats  ;  then  on  again, 
after  an  hour's  wait. 

MarcJi  12///.— Near  Colton,  Cal.,  where  we 
were  cheered  by  the  sight  of  spaces  made  green 
by  irrigation,  something  like  a  continuity  of 
verdure  extending  from  the  valley  up  the  hills, 
and  water  here  and  there.     Came  into  the  fer- 


112     A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA. 

tile  and  prosperous  San  Gabriel  Valley,  reach- 
ing Los  Ang-eles,  grown  in  a  year  or  two  from 
ten  thousand  to  forty-fiv^e  thousand,  at  12  M. 

Went  by  a  branch  road  eight  miles  to  Pasa- 
dena, to  the  Raymond,  where  we  were  glad  to 
meet  all  the  comforts  of  a  first-class  hotel,  man- 
aged by  Merrill  of  the  Crawford  House,  White 
Mountains.  Its  two  hundred  rooms  have  been 
filled  all  winter,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  we 
got  accommodations.  The  situation  is  delight- 
ful, on  an  eminence  sloping  every  way  and 
looking  over  the  lovely  valley  of  the  San  Ga- 
briel, stretching,  as  a  wide  plain,  to  the  same 
kind  of  hills  we  have  had  ever  since  we  entered 
Mexico  a  month  ago,  except  that  in  places  on 
these  there  are  patches  of  green.  On  some  of 
the  highest  peaks  is  snow,  not  perpetual,  but 
remaining  from  the  fall  of  last  month,  and 
will  remain,  it  is  said,  into  July.  The  valley  is 
of  great  fertility,  made  so  by  irrigation  from 
streams  from  the  mountains  and  in  places  by 
artesian  wells.  Here,  as  in  Mexico  and  all  this 
country,  deserts  bloom  at  the  touch  of  water, 
as  it  were  an  enchanter's  wand.  Not  easily 
can  one  tire  of  looking  out  from  the  piazzas  of 
the  Raymond  upon  the  varied  landscape  below, 
steej)cd  in  a  semi-tropical  atmos]:)herc. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

We  pass  an  enjoyable  day  at  the  Hotel  Raynionel — 
Take  a  long  drive  to  the  Snnny  Slope  Winery — 
"  Lucky  Bahhvin'  and  his  ranch — We  visit  Los 
Angeles  and  then  ride  to  '' Kinney loar,''  the  resi- 
dence of  a  retired  New  York  cigarette- maker — 
Leave  for  'Frisco — Golden  Gate  Park — A  drive 
throiigJi  Chinatoivn. 

March  i^th,  Sunday. — Passed  a  delicious  day 
at  the  Raymond.  A  fine  company  of  guests 
here,  much  as  is  met  at  any  very  best  hotel  at 
the  East,  and  from  many  cities  and  States. 

March  \A,th.—K.^i.  took  along  drive  to  the 
Sunny  Slope  Winery  owned  by  Rose  &  Stern, 
and  lately  put  into  a  new  style,  **  The  Rose 
Wine  Co.,  Limited."  Rose  owns  a  great  tract 
of  land  in  oranges,  lemons,  walnuts,  ohves,  etc., 
but  chiefiy  in  vines  and  wheat,  of  which,  it  is 
said,  he  has  five  thousand  acres  now  growing, 
and  I  do  not  know  how  many  of  vines.  They 
crush  two  hundred  tons  of  grapes  a  day  in  the 
season,  using  not  only  their  own,  but  lots  they 
buy  of  growers  who  raise  to  sell.  Went 
through  their  cellars,  now  mostly  empty,  where 
are  many  casks  said  to  hold  five  thousand  gal- 


114     -^    TOUR   IX    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

Urns  each.  We  tasted  a  fairish  wine  called  port, 
and  the  clerk  in  charge  recommended  a  white 
wine  called  burger,  a  bottle  of  which  I  ordered 
at  lunch  at  the  Ra^'mond,  and  found  not  at  all 
to  mv  liking  ;  excessively  acid  and  fiery. 

Our  ride  lay  through  great  orchards  of 
oranges  laden  heavily  with  the  golden  fruit, 
plantations  of  apricots,  peaches,  and  almonds, 
now  in  blossom,  groves  of  walnuts,  etc.,  in  many 
cases  enclosed  in  hedges  of  clipped  Monterey 
cypress,  forming  the  closest  and  prettiest  fences 
imaginable,  with  roads  bordered  by  rows  of  the 
fast-growing  eucalyptus,  pepper-trees,  and  Cali- 
fornia oaks,  which  are  much  like  the  water-oaks 
of  Florida  and  Texas. 

Rode  through  E.  J.  Baldwin's  farm,  or  ranch, 
as  farms  are  called  here,  of  fifty-seven  thousand 
acres.  He  is  also  called  "  lucky  Baldwin" — 
not,  it  is  probable,  from  his  matrimonial  es- 
capades, he  now  being  sixty-three  years  old,  it 
is  said,  and  having  had  seven  wives,  four  still 
living,  and  the  acknowledged  one  but  seventeen 
years  old,  but  from  the  fortunate  turn  his  real- 
estate  operations  have  taken. 

We  returned  to  the  hotel  through  Pasadena, 
a  pretty  village  of  embowered  cottages,  the 
growth  of  little  more  than  one  year,  and  now 
tlie  subject  of  a  "  boom"  of  exceeding  vigor. 
A  plot  of  land  at  the  intersection  of  two  prin- 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      II 5 

cipal  streets,  sixty  b}^  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet,  is  said,  on  good  authority,  to  have 
been  sold  a  day  or  two  ago  for  one  thousand 
dollars  a  foot,  or  sixty  thousand  dollars.  The 
air  is  delicious,  soft,  yet  cool,  bracing,  and 
tonic.  Our  driver  said  it  was  not  much  differ- 
ent all  vrinter,  and  as  we  passed  a  school-house 
with  the  boys  out  at  play,  barefoot,  he  said, 
"  That  is  the  way  they  go  all  winter." 

MarcJi  15///. — All  day  at  Raymond. 

MarcJi  \6tJi. — Drove  to  Los  Angeles,  eight 
miles,  a  handsome  town  with  a  city  look,  said 
to  have  grown  from  ten  to  forty-five  thousand 
in  less  than  five  years.  Business  streets  sub- 
stantially built  and  a  good  deal  of  activity  shown. 
The  town  has  tramwa3^s  worked  by  horses,  ca- 
ble, and  electricity.  It  lies  pleasantly  on  the 
river  of  the  same  name,  and  is  likely  to  become 
the  principal  city  of  Southern  California.  The 
roads  are  deep  with  dust  in  most  places,  but  are 
not  at  all  as  bad  as  they  will  be  later,  it  is  said, 
when,  except  where  irrigation  is  possible,  all 
will  be  brown  desolation. 

March  ^yth.  —  P.M.  drove  to  "  Kinneyloar, " 
the  residence  of  a  retired  cigarette-maker  in 
New  York,  who,  with  much  labor  and  expense 
and  considerable  taste,  has  made  himself  a  home, 
with  fine  orange  groves,  etc.,  close  up  to  a  sharp 
rise  of   the    Sierra    Madre,   here    mounting   up 


Il6     A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

something  over  four  thousand  feet.  He  is  on 
a  platform  about  eight  hundred  feet  above 
the  plain,  as  is  the  neighboring  Sierra  Madre 
Villa,  a  hotel  well  spoken  of,  but,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  fine  lawn — having  that  rarest  of  all 
things  here  except  water,  smooth,  solid,  green 
turf — bearing  no  comparison  to  the  Raymond. 

March  1 8//!.— Left  for  'Frisco  at  i  p.m. 
Crossed  the  Sierra  Madre  Range  and  the 
Mohave  Desert,  and  woke, 

March  \<^th,  in  the  San  Jonquin  Valley,  amid 
gieat  fields  of  young  wheat  and  other  spring- 
crops  such  as  one  is  more  accustomed  to  at 
the  East,  or  more  particularly  in  the  West  and 
North-west.  This  valley  contains  seven  million 
acres  and  resembles  a  Western  prairie,  and  all 
along  are  far  more  signs  of  agricultural  pros- 
perit}'  than  we  have  seen  since  leaving  htrme. 

Reached  Oakland  at  ii  a.m.,  passing  along 
the  south-west  shore  of  Benicia  Bay,  the  south 
shore  of  the  strait  connecting  it  with  San  Fran- 
cisco Bay  and  the  east  and  south  shore  of  the 
bay  itself.  The  whole  view  along  is  pleasing, 
the  hills  back  of  Benicia  and  all  the  land  about 
clad  in  verdure,  and  the  water  of  'Frisco  Bay, 
as  we  crossed  it  by  ferry  from  Oakland,  a  rich 
green,  and  everything  soft  and  mellow  in  the 
hazy  light. 

The    city    itself    is    rather    disappointing    as 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA,      II7 

approached  from  the  water,  filling  the  level  land 
in  a  dull,  crowded  way,  without  picturesque 
features  to  catch  the  eye,  straggling  up  the 
abrupt  heights  behind  in  a  rambling  sort  of 
way,  and  showing  to  the  north  great,  ugl}' 
patches  of  brown  slope.  Our  party  was  booked 
for  the  Palace  Hotel,  and  we  had  been  promised 
choice  rooms  there,  but  those  shown  me  were 
so  poor  that  I  refused  them  and  came  to  the 
Baldwin. 

MarcJi  20th. — Went  to  the  church  of  Dr.  Spin- 
liei*,  who  was  once  in  Kalamazoo  over  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  there.  He  was  absent,  trymg 
the  effect  of  a  change  of  climate  for  obstinate 
neuralgia.  The  day  is  warm  and  sunny.  I  saw 
placards  on  the  wall  advertising  two  different 
picnic  parties.  The  streets  have  a  Sunday  look, 
although  I  notice  many  stores  open,  of  one 
kind  and  another.  P.M.  went  to  Golden  Gate 
Park,  made  with  great  pains,  taste,  and  use  of 
much  money,  on  the  sandy  upland  about  half 
way  to  the  Cliff.  It  contains  fourteen  hundred 
acres,  well  laid  out  in  grass  and  evergreens,  of 
which  only  about  one  third  is  under  improve- 
ment, and  to  reach  the  Pacific,  some  four  miles 
away,  when  completed.  The  red  earth  of  the 
walks  and  drives  comes  from  two  hills  near  by, 
and  is  of  such  a  sort  that  I  am  told  it  needs  no 
mixing  with  anything  to  make  a  driveway  so 


Il8     A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

firm  as  to  suggest  a  cement  road-bed,  and  con- 
trasts agreeably  with  the  verdure. 

The  drive  was  thronged  with  carriages,  as 
were  the  walks  with  orderly  people,  mostly  of 
a  plain  sort,  much  like  those  seen  on  fine  Sun- 
days in  Central  and  Prospect  Parks.  I  was 
struck  here  as  elsewhere  with  the  healthy,  vig- 
orous look  of  the  women,  who  seem  to  prosper 
in  this  climate.  The  proportion  of  well-looking 
and  even  handsome  faces  seems  to  me  greater 
here  than  in  any  city  I  know.  They  surpass  the 
men  in  their  appearance  of  freshness  and  vigor. 

Access  is  had  to  this  park  by  a  line  of  cable- 
cars.  These  are  in  common  use  here,  and  there 
is  an  excellent  system  of  them  covering  all  direc- 
tions and  used  generally,  I  should  say,  by  all 
sorts  of  the  people.  They  run,  of  course,  as  fast 
as  the  cables  which  they  grasp,  and  let  go  at  the 
will  of  the  engineer  on  each,  who  readily  starts 
and  stops  them,  and  they  move  uniformly  at 
about  the  speed  of  a  moderate  trot.  The  only 
irregularity  is  a  quick  movement  as  the  grip 
clutches  the  cable,  which  is  hidden  underground 
and  reached  through  a  groove  running  parallel 
with  the  rails  and  between  them.  They  move 
up-hill  and  down  at  the  same  rate  of  speed,  and 
go  right  up  the  steep  face  of  the  cliffs,  rising  ab- 
ruptly in  all  directions  from  the  city,  except 
where  it  fronts  the  bay. 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      II9 

MarcJi  2\st. — P.M.  drove  through  Chinatown, 
consistmg  of  several  blocks  in  the  heart  of  the 
business  part  of  the  city,  occupied  almost 
wholly  by  Chinese,  and  presenting  externally  a 
much  less  squalid  and  repulsive  appearance 
than  I  expected  from  what  I  had  read  and 
heard.  Many  of  the  men  are  much  superior  in 
physique,. looks,  and  bearing  to  those  of  their 
nation  in  New  York,  for  instance,  and  I  was 
surprised  to  find  such  fine,  costly,  and  rare 
stocks  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  goods  on  sale 
in  their  stores,  and  still  more  to  meet  such 
bright,  smart- looking,  pleasant  salesmen. 

In  one  of  them  was  a  little  girl  say  ten  years 
old,  daughter  of  the  proprietor,  whose  feet  had 
undergone  the  bandaging  process,  so  that  her 
little  ornamented  shoes  would  not  go  on  the 
feet  of  an  ordinary  American  child  of  three 
years,-  the  compression  having  reduced  the  toes 
and  front  of  the  foot  to  a  short,  narrow  lump, 
so  destroying  the  elasticity  of  the  foot  and 
narrowing  its  base  that  she  walked  \<\\\\  a 
tottering,  sinuous  motion,  almost  painful  to  see. 

The  Chinese  are  capital  salesmen,  speak  fair 
English,  are  quick  to  see  your  intentions  and 
wants,  very  polite,  and  skilful  in  praising  their 
goods.  They  show  beautiful  goods  in  porce- 
lain, ivory,  and  bronze,  rich  embroideries,  crape 
shawls,  etc.,  and  stand  so  well  by  the  prices  they 


I20     A    TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

make  as  not  to  offend  with  the  idea  that  they 
are  cheating,  and  succeed  well  in  impressing  one 
with  the  notion  of  their  candor  and  fairness. 
Their  goods  seem  cheap  compared  with  New 
York  prices.  There  are  some  who  do  a  job- 
bing business,  and  some  who  sell  altogether 
at  wholesale.  Among  those  we  called  on  are 
Wing  Chong  Lung  <^  Co.,  617  Dupont  Street  ; 
Kim  Lung  Co.,  723  Dupont  Street  ;  Chy  Lung 
c^  Co.,  640  Sacramento  Street,  and  Chin  Lee 
Co.,  521  Kearney  Street. 

We  went  to  a  leading  restaurant  and  had 
each  a  cup  of  tea,  very  good,  and  made  each  in 
its  cup  by  pouring  hot  water  on  the  leaves  and 
covering  the  cup  for  a  moment  with  a  tiny 
saucer,  and  then  pouring  it  into  a  still  smaller 
cup  for  drinking.  With  it  came  a  plate  of 
partly  dried  pits  of  a  sort  of  almond,  a  plate 
of  preserved  ginger,  and  a  rough,  thorny  shell, 
covering  what  looked  like  a  dried  grape,  of  a 
sharpish  and  not  agreeable  taste  with  a  single 
seed  looking  like  a  vanilla  bean. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

TJie  Cliff  House — Sea-lions  and  their  haunts — A 
sight  of  CJiinatoivn  at  night — Its  streets,  its  shops ^ 
and  the  character  of  its  inhabitants —  The  opium 
dens — Go  to  a  Chinese  theatre  and  witness  a  per- 
formance, after  which  we  enter  a  Joss-house  and 
make  observations. 

March  22d, — Went  out  to  the  Cliff  House  on 
the  north-west  point  of  the  cape  on  which  the 
city  stands,  at  the  south  side  of  the  entrance  to 
the  Golden  Gate,  as  the  strait  is  called  leading 
into  San  Francisco  Bay,  about  as  wide,  I  should 
say,  or  a  little  wider  than  The  Narrows  at  the 
entrance  to  New  York  Harbor.  To  the  west  is 
the  broad  Pacific,  its  deep  blue  pulsations  com- 
ing lazily  up  on  a  sloping,  sandy  beach  and 
stretching  away  without  limit  toward  the  Orient 
under  an  opaline  sky. 

Twenty  rods  off  the  craggy  rocks  on  which 
the  Cliff  House  is  built  are  five  precipitous 
rocks  of  unequal  size  rising  from  the  sea,  haunted 
by  seals,  called  here  sea-lions,  presumably  be- 
cause this  is  a  more  startling  name  for  these 
uncouth,  repulsive  amphibia.  There  are  more 
than  a  hundred  of  them  making  a  home  on  these 
9 


122     A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

rocks,  when  resting  in  the  sun  from  the  joy  and 
labor  of  the  waves,  where  they  gambol  and  find 
their  daily  food,  easily  catching  all  the  fish  they 
want,  and  being  protected  from  hunters  by  the 
laws.  The  'Friscans  are  proud  of  them  as  one 
of  the  attractions  of  the  city,  and  their  right  to 
the  solace  of  sun  and  rock  there  is  prescriptive, 
and  runneth  far  beyond  the  memory  of  the 
"  forty-niner."  They  take  their  food  in  the 
morning.  We  watched  them  coming  in  and 
climbing  up  the  steep,  bare  crags  vvith  painful 
but  effective  clumsiness,  and  forcing  those 
already  crowding  the  secure  places  to  make 
room  in  a  commotion  of  twisting  necks,  wab- 
bling fins,  and  hoarse,  abrupt  barks,  something 
between  that  of  a  mastiff  dog  and  the  prelim- 
inary brool  of  a  lion. 

At  7  P.M.  Mr.  Vale  came  for  me  to  make  the 
round  of  Chinatown  by  night.  Went  to  the  old 
City  Hall  police  station  and  were  taken  in 
charge  by  Sergeant  Houghtaling,  a  "  forty- 
niner,"  from  Peekslcill,  N.  Y.,  and  an  ofihcer  in 
this  precinct  for  many  years,  and  so  fully  familiar 
with  all  about  it.  There  were  five  in  the  party 
—all  men.  We  set  out  about  eight  o'clock,  and 
I  reached  my  hotel  at  i  A.M.,  well  tired  out 
with  nearly  five  hours  on  foot. 

We  looked  into  the  Orientals'  shops  of  various 
sorts  and  found  them  exceedingly    interesting. 


A  TOUR   IN   MEXICO  AND   CALIFORNIA.      1 23 

They  buy  and  use  almost  nothing  made  or 
grown  here,  and  so  far  as  possible  live  com- 
pletely apart  from  Americans  in  all  respects. 
They  have  their  own  drug-stores,  for  example, 
in  which  prescriptions  of  their  own  native  doc- 
tors are  compounded.  Their  pharmacopceia  is 
extensive,  and  consists  chiefly  of  plants,  includ- 
ing roots,  leaves,  barks,  and  gums.  I  was  told 
they  use  no  minerals.  1  saw  several  prescrip- 
tions filled,  and  the  doses  would  seem  to  be 
heroic,  but  as  they  compound  the  crude  ma- 
terials, bulk  may  be  only  an  incident.  They 
also  use  animal  medicines,  which  they  import 
nicely  prepared  and  give  by  decoction— lizards 
for  dyspepsia,  locusts  for  weak  eyes,  snakes' 
for  rheumatism.  Beetles  and  cockchafers,  too, 
come  within  the  domain  of  the  learned  profes- 
sion of  medicine  in  the  oldest  nation  in  the 
world.  Their  groceries  come  from  China,  and 
are  of  great  variety.  Rice  is  the  staple,  and 
dried  and  preserved  fruits  and  vegetables,  to 
an  extent  beyond  anything  we  know,  fill  the 
grocers'  shelves  in  the  snuggest,  neatest,  and 
most  ingenious  parcels,  wrapped  and  secured 
to  an  extent  that,  with  the  price  of  labor  with 
us,  would  cost  more  than  the  articles  them- 
selves. Besides,  they  bring  meats  and  fresh 
vegetables  by  steamer  from  China,  and  so  cheap 
are  they  at  home,   that,   the  sergeant  informs 


124     A   TOUR    IX    MEXICO   AXD    CALIFORXIA. 

nie,  they  reach  here  cheaper  than  they  can  be 
grown  and  sold  here.  1  was  shown  ten  vari- 
eties of  potatoes — queer,  exaggerated  tubers 
they  were  too — huge  fresh  citrons,  ducks  dried 
in  the  sun  and  preserved  in  oil,  dried  oysters, 
dried  pigs'  and  ducks'  livers,  the  queerest  sau- 
sages, dried  codfish  with  great,  round  heads  and 
goggle  eyes,  like  those  drawn  for  dolphins  in 
old  engravings,  huge  hampers  of  eggs  boiled 
hard  and  encased  each  in  a  firm,  thick  coating 
of  mud,  and  a  huge  metal  jar  in  which  live  cat- 
fish were  swimming  about — all  come  from  China 
by  steamer. 

The  variety  of  all  this  is  bewildering,  and 
beyond  the  wonder  that  such  common  articles 
should  be  imported  into  a  country  prolific  as 
this  coast  is  in  the  necessaries  of  life,  it  shows 
how  utterly  they  keep  themselves  apart  from 
us.  They  even  import  their  poultry.  Nothing 
is  lost  or  wasted.  A  chicken  had  just  been 
killed  in  one  of  the  groceries  we  visited,  and  its 
blood  was  saved  in  a  cup  to  be  sent  to  the  cus- 
tomer ;  and  I  was  told  the  entrails  would  be 
carefully  washed  and  cooked  and  eaten.  All 
these  articles  were  clean,  great  care  being  used 
in  the  processes  and  the  handling,  and,  from 
the  Mongolian  point  of  view,  carefully  and 
neatly  done. 

We  then  visited  many  opium  dens  and  saw  a 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      1 25 

great  number  of  men  who  had  finished  their 
suppers  getting  ready  for  sleep  after  a  smoke 
of  opium.  It  costs  about  ten  cents'  worth  of 
opium  to  produce  the  sleep,  the  smoker  filling 
his  pipe  two  or  three  times,  and  consuming 
each  charge  by  three  or  four  inhalations.  It  is 
quite  a  knack  to  prepare  the  pipe  for  smoking. 
This  is  a  wide,  shallow  bowl  of  metal  with  a 
bamboo  stem  two  feet  long.  The  opium  is  a 
black  paste  ;  is  carefully  put  in  the  bowl,  a  hole 
is  made  through  it,  then,  holding  it  top  down 
over  the  flame  of  a  lamp  already  burning  at  his 
side,  the  Chinaman  lies  down  with  all  his  cloth- 
ing on  except  his  hat  and  shoes,  rests  his  head 
on  the  short,  oblong  block  of  wood  which  serves 
him  for  a  pillow,  takes  a  long  inhalation,  draw- 
ing the  smoke  down  deep  into  the  lungs  and 
slowly  emitting  it  from  the  nostrils.  Two  or 
three  of  these  inhalations  consume  the  opium, 
and  after  a  moment's  waiting  he  charges  his 
pipe  again,  an  operation  requiring,  I  should  say, 
five  minutes.  The  effect  seems  to  be  prompt, 
and  two  or  three  such  smokes  to  suffice,  when, 
putting  out  his  lamp  or  leaving  it  for  a  co-tenant 
of  the  platform  which  serves  for  a  bed  to  as 
many  as  can  lie  on  it,  he  falls  into  a  deep  slum- 
ber, from  which  he  can  be  roused  with  difficult}', 
lasting  till  morning.  Then  he  wakes,  eats  his 
breakfast,  and  goes  about  his  da3''s  labor — his 


126     A   TOUR   IX    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

hours  being,  when  driven  by  work,  from  6  A.M. 
to  midnight — to  repeat  his  smoking  the  next 
night,  and  so  on.  This  is  done  not  in  pubUc 
rooms  for  the  purpose,  but  in  the  rooms,  or 
more  properly  holes,  where  they  swarm  to  an 
extent  incredible  to  one  who  does  not  see  it 
with  his  own  eves. 

In  a  room,  seven  by  twelve  feet,  reached  by 
going  down  two  flights  of  stairs  below  ground, 
were  twenty-seven  men  in  bed.  They  had 
cooked  and  eaten  quite  an  elaborate  supper  of 
several  dishes  there.  This  stowing  is  done  by 
putting  up  shelves  or  platforms  one  above  an- 
other against  the  wall  on  one  side,  with  only 
space  enough  to  crawl  in,  where  they  lie  like 
herrings  in  a  box,  as  the  sergeant  expressed  it. 
Still  more  marvellous  are  some  of  the  state- 
ments of  the  sergeant  of  the  packing  done  in 
rooms  and  houses,  exceeding  anything  existing 
in  the  most  crowded  Caucasian  abodes.  The 
fact  that  within  the  compass  of  little  more  than, 
say,  two  squares  of  New  York  bounded  on  the 
east  and  west  by  Third  and  Fourth  avenues  is 
a  population  estimated  at  fifty  thousand,  speaks 
conclusive!}^  of  the  swarms  in  this  Asiatic  hive. 

This  is  in  a  quarter  of  the  old  city,  and  the 
exterior  architecture  has  not  been  greatly 
changed.  Some  of  the  fronts  of  the  old  build- 
ings have  been  altered  into  conformity  with  the 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.      12/ 

notions  of  the  occupants,  for  stores,  theatres, 
restaurants,  etc.,  balconies,  wooden  awnings, 
and  projections  here  and  there  thrown  out  ; 
but  the  o^eneral  character  of  the  streets  is  un- 
changed  ;  and  the  interiors  of  all  the  buildings 
are  literally  like  the  cells  and  passages  of  a 
beehive  stuffed  with  comb.  They  put  up  in- 
numerable partitions  and  cut  the  rooms  in  the 
old  houses  into  dark  cells  and  dens  of  all  sorts, 
from  garret  to  basement,  down  into  cellars  and 
sub-cellars  and  out  under  the  sidewalks,  where  ♦ 
the}^  wallow  in  unspeakable  stench  and  foulness. 
There  are  said  to  be  but  fourteen  hundred 
women  in  all  the  colon}^,  and  these,  almost 
without  exception  prostitutes,  are  said  to  be 
really  slaves,  and  to  be  let  and  sold  by  their 
owners,  the  most  attractive  changing  hands, 
sometimes  at  a  valuation  of  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars.  These  are  not  found  in  the 
crowded  quarters,  where  the  men  swarm,  as  de- 
scribed above,  but  mostl}'  in  houses  giving  on 
narrow  alle^^s,  where  they  sit  on  the  ground 
floor  looking  out  of  little  square  windows  about 
four  feet  from  the  sidewalk,  and  ogle  the 
passers-b}^ — not  so  flagrantly,  however,  as  may 
be  seen  on  many  streets  of  our  large  cities  by 
night  or  day.  They  are  poor,  painted  creatures 
with  dull,  sad  faces,  and  look,  as  they  are  really, 
the  soulless  creatures  of  man's  lust. 


128     A   TOUR   IX    MEXICO   AXD   CALIFORXIA. 

We  went  on  the  stage  of  the  principal  theatre 
by  a  series  of  tortuous,  dark,  narrow  ])assages 
and  stairways,  and  saw  a  small  fraction  of  a 
play  whose  scene  is  laid  two  thousand  years 
ago,  the  sergeant  explained,  and  has  been  run- 
ning now  for  four  nights,  and  has  just  fairly 
begun.  No  one  knows  how  long  this  will  run. 
The  sergeant  said  that  an  historical  play  just 
taken  off  ran  four  months — by  which  I  mean 
the  play  took  four  months  to  act  to  the  end. 
The  performance  begins  at  4  p.-M.  and  lasts 
till  12  midnight.  There  is  no  pretence  of 
stage  illusion,  no  scenery,  no  drop-curtain,  no 
footlights,  but,  instead,  gaslights  from  above. 
A  free-and-easy  orchestra  sits  on  the  back  of  the 
stage  making  a  discordant  clang-clang  and  tum- 
tum.  During  the  half  hour  we  were  there  five 
performers  were  on  the  stage — two  females,  one 
of  high  rank,  a  terrible  old  man,  made  up  great- 
ly like  the  Mikado  in  the  opera  of  that  name, 
and  a  young  peasant  leading  a  cow  —the  latter 
done  by  a  youth  with  no  pretence  of  likeness 
except  his  head  thrust  into  a  good  imitation  of 
a  cow's  head.  The  sergeant  said  the  plot  was 
of  a  poor  peasant  who  came,  by  the  favor  of  a 
young  lady  of  rank,  to  be  governor  of  a  prov- 
ince. The  female  parts  are  taken  by  males  ; 
and  the  heroine  of  this  play  simpered  and  tot- 
tered and   was  made  up,  in  hair  and  paint  and 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.      I2g 

costume,  to  look  for  all  the  world  like  such  of 
their  women  as  I  had  seen,  and,  with  her  falsetto 
voice,  had  the  highest  wages  of  any  of  a  com- 
pany of  one  hundred  and  twenty  performers. 
These  are  all  boarded  in  the  building,  and  are 
stowed  away  as  I  have  noted  elsewhere. 

In  the  midst  of  the  play  a  performer  went  to 
a  post  at  one  side  of  the  front  of  the  stage  and 
hung  on  a  hook  a  brown  placard  freshly  paint- 
ed in  Chinese  characters.  This  signified  that 
some  one  in  the  audience  was  wanted  outside, 
and  presently  he  came  forward,  took  down  the 
notice,  and  departed.  As  we  passed  out  we 
were  shown  a  rich  robe  in  the  property-room, 
stiff  with  gold  embroidery,  and  in  the  green- 
room  was  the  manager  painting  his  face  white, 
streaked  with  ferocious  black,  being  soon  to 
go  on  the  stage  as  a  great  general. 

We  went  next  to  a  Joss-house,  a  large  hall  in 
a  second  story  with  several  shrines  to  as  many 
deities,  whose  statues  were  rather  richly  set  in 
niches  with  lights  and  perfumes  before  them. 
These  images  were  not  unpleasing  in  feature 
and  aspect,  and  all  I  saw  represented  mortals 
deified  for  the  abundance  of  their  good  deeds 
done  in  life.  One  was  of  a  physician  of  great 
benevolence  to  the  poor,  and  a  much-cherished 
one  dear  to  women  in  sorrow  is  that  of  an 
empress  centuries  agone,   the  inscription   over 


130     A   TOUR    IX    MEXICO    AXD    CALIFORXIA. 

whose  head  the  seri^eant  interpreted,  "  Wor- 
shipped for  her  goodness  in  returning-  good 
for  evil."  The  worship  would  seem  to  be  quite 
perfunctory.  The  devout  drop  in  at  will,  and, 
with  one  or  more  prostrations,  burn  a  paper 
with  a  prayer  on  it,  and  go  about  their  affairs. 
But  suppose  the  Oriental  mind  through  the 
visible  image  discovers  the  virtue  it  stands  for, 
and  beyond  that  a  dim  aspect  of  the  invisible 
First  Cause,  where  is  the  idolatry  ?  Does  the 
dissenting  parson  in  the  "  meeting-house"  have 
such  indubitable  views  of  the  Eternal  One  that 
he  can  condemn  all  who  do  not  share  them  to 
remediless  perdition  ? 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Arrive  at  Monterey— Go  to  the  Hotel  del  Monte 
and  see  its  famous  park— Leave  for  Santa  Cruz 
—  The  big  trees— A  good  climate  for  invalids — 
Napa,  and  the  Napa  Soda  Springs  Hotel— The 
cJiarniing  Napa  Valley — A  ride  to  the  Geysers — 
We  describe  them  —  Something  aboiit  Charley 
Foss,  tJie  zvliip. 

March  23^.— P.M.  went  by  rail  to  Monterey, 
down  the  beautiful  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  to 
the  Hotel  del  Monte,  famous  for  its  park  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  or  so  in  which  it  stands. 
These  grounds  are  set  wiih  fine  old  trees,  great 
pines,   and   Spanish  oaks.     One  of  the  latter,  I 
should  say,  spreads  over  a  space  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  diameter.     Fine  turf  has  been 
made  all  under  these  trees  and  throughout  the 
everglades   with    much    labor    and   cost  ;    and 
banks  and   parterres  of   flowers    abundant  and 
rich  are  all  about,  and  with  the  summer  air  and 
freshness  of  all  nature  in  sight — art  being  used, 
so  that   "nothing  common   or   unclean"  offers 
itself — make  a  charming  spot  difficult  to  leave. 

3Tarch  2^th.  —  We  had   a  fine  drive   after  four 
horses,  "  Alec"  being  the  whip,  who  had  driven 


132     A   TOUR    IX    MKXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

six  years  in  the  Yosemite,  and  is,  I  should  say, 
one  of  the  originals  in  that  profession.  He  had 
a  peculiar  vocabulary.  He  said  to  Betty,  to 
dissuade  her  from  stopping  to  get  some  short- 
stemmed,  wild  poppies,  '*  Them  posies  grow  so 
low  that  a  bumble-bee  would  graze  his  shins 
stoopin'  down  to  get  the  honey  out."  Our 
way  was  along  the  south  side  of  the  bay  of 
Monterey,  then  winding  back  round  the  point, 
and  returning  along  the  north  shore  of  a  charm- 
ing little  winding  ba}^  and  through  great  pine 
woods — a  ride  of  nineteen  miles,  and  all  made 
on  the  land  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Co.,  who  own  the  hotel  also.  We  had  fine 
views  of  the  Pacific  from  cliffs  on  which  white- 
crested  breakers  dashed,  of  a  richer  green  than 
I  had  seen  before.  Off-shore  were  crags 
haunted  by  seals  climbing  on  the  rocks,  and 
numerously  swimming  about  in  the  surf — this 
being  their  feeding- time  of  day. 

March  2%tk. — Left  at  6  a.m.  by  rail  tor  Santa 
Cruz  on  the  north  side  of  the  bay  of  Monterey, 
about  twenty  miles  across  by  water,  but  some 
forty  miles  by  rail.  The  country  on  the  way  is 
delightful,  including  the  Pajaho  Valley,  and  as 
we  approached  Santa  Cruz,  level,  fertile,  broad 
lands  stretched  away  sheer  to  the  Pacific,  green, 
and  fringed  with  a  hard  beach  of  fine  white 
sand.     We  had  a  cottage  on  the  grounds  of  the 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      1 33 

Pope  House,  and  went  with  four  horses  nine 
miles  up  the  San  Lorenzo  River  to  the  big  trees. 
The  ride  up  the  river  is  ver}-  interesting  and 
picturesque,  the  bottom  of  the  wild  canon 
through  which  it  runs  being  in  places  seven 
hundred  feet  below  the  roadway  scooped  out 
along  its  side.  At  last  we  wound  down  to  its 
level,  forded  it,  and  were  among  the  redwood 
trees  in  a  fertile  stretch  of  valley  on  the  east 
bank.  There  are  man}^  trees  of  large  size,  but 
none  equal  to  their  more  famous  relatives  of  the 
Yosemite.  The  "  Giant"  measures  sixty  feet 
round,  and  is  said  to  be  two  hundred  and  ninety 
feet  high,  and  others  are  nearly  as  large.  Santa 
Cruz  has  a  population  estimated  at  five  thousand, 
is  charmingly  situated,  but  at  present  poorl}^ 
built.  It  is  well  spoken  of  as  to  its  climate  for 
invalids,  and  it  has  fogs  from  the  sea— said  not 
to  be  harmful — that  furnish  moisture  to  the 
crops  all  about  here. 

March  26th. — Returned  to  Oakland,  and 
thence  by  rail  to  Napa,  crossing  the  Sacramento 
at  Vallejo.  The  river  here  just  above  its  mouth 
at  Mare  Island  is  nearly  the  width  of  the  Hud- 
son at  Hoboken,  and  continues  about  the  width 
of  the  latter  as  far  up  as  one  can  see.  At 
Vallejo  took  the  cars  for  Napa,  twenty  miles  up 
the  valley  of  that  name,  thence  by  stage  six 
miles  to  the  Napa  Soda  Springs  Hotel  up  among 


134     A   TOUR    IN    .MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

the  hills  two  thousand  feet.  The  Napa  Valley 
is  charming  at  this  time  of  year,  with  its  tender 
green  of  blade  and  leaf,  and  stretches  out  widely, 
between  hills  on  the  west  and  east,  a  broad, 
fertile  plain  of  deep  alluvium,  very  like,  as  all 
these  valleys  are,  to  the  smaller  and  richer 
prairies  of  the  West. 

March  ijth. — This  is  a  pleasant  spot,  with  fine 

views  to  the  south  down  the  Napa  Valley  and 

sheltered  northward  by  the  tops  of  a  mountain 

range,  on  the  flank  of  which  are  the  springs  and 

hotel.     This  latter  is  curious  in  being  an  exactly 

circular  building,   with  the  private  apartments 

(Opening  from  an   interior   passage   running  all 

round,    and    a   great  parlor  filling  the   central 

space  under  a  high  dome.     It  is  said  to  have 

been  intended  originally  for  a  stable  and  turned 

into   a   hotel,   which    is   not   only    unique,    but 

convenient   and    pleasant.       The   springs    here 

are  named  "  soda,"  and  are  so  with  differences, 

each  having  a  slightly  different  flavor  imparted 

by  some  other  ingredient,  so  that  one  of    the 

three  is  called   the   Lemonade   Spring,  from  a 

weak,  acidulous  taste.     The  water  is  agreeable, 

and,   as  in  the  case  of  other  springs  over  the 

country,  great  claims  are  made  for  their  sanitary 

pnjperties,   stress  being  laid  on  the  efficacy  of 

the   water  in   disorders  of  the  stomach,      it  is 

bottled  charged  with  its  own  gas,  so  that  it  will 


A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      135 

expel  the  cork,  and  sent  all  along  the  Pacific 
coast  in  great  quantities  as  a  table  water  and  to 
drink  with  wines,  for  which  it  is  said  to  be 
specially  fitted.  It  can  be  freely  drunk  with 
impunity. 

March  28///. — Left  wife  and  the  children  at  8.30 
A.M.  to  go  to  the  Ge3^sers,  reached  by  returning 
to  Napa,  thence  by  rail  to  Calistoga,  forty-six 
miles  from  'Frisco,  thence  by  stage  twenty-six 
miles  over  the  Mayacamas  Mountains,  on  the 
north  side  of  which  are  those  wonderful  phe- 
nomena known  as  the  Geysers.  The  stage  ride 
over  the  mountains  is  one  of  the  few  remaining 
famous  mountain  routes,  and  I  was  desirous  of 
making  it  under  as  favorable  conditions  as 
possible. 

Was  disappointed  in  not  riding  over  the  road 
to  the  Geysers  with  Charley  Foss,  the  son  of  the 
renowned  Clark  Foss,  the  co-rival  of  Hank 
Monks,  who  drove  Horace  Greeley  on  his 
famous  ride  from  Reno  down  to  Placerville. 
•Both  these  worthies  have  bowled  off  out  of 
sight  to  the  "  dim  Plutonian  shore,"  where,  let 
us  hope,  they  have  the  good  company  of  the 
elder  Weller  and  his  grandson  Tony  (who 
early  gave  presage  of  future  distinction  in  the 
profession  by  spurning  the  pint-pot  and  abso- 
lutely refusing  any  modicum  less  than  a  quart), 
and  all  good  brethren  of  the  whip  in  all  ages, 


17,6     A   TOUR    Ix\    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

from  Phaeton  down.  Monday  was  an  off  day 
for  Charley,  but  there  is  likelihood  we  shall 
have  him  on  our  return,  which  will  be  still 
better,  as  the  descent  is  greater. 

Charley  Foss  owns  the  road  built  by  his  father 
nearly  thirty  years  since,  at  a  cost  of  thirty-five 
thousand  dollars,  and  owned  by  him,  stock  and 
all,  whereon  for  twenty-five  years  his  pride  was 
to  bowl  down  the  steep  mountain  road  with 
four,  six,  and  even  eight  horses.  We  had 
Foss's  best  driver  to  the  Geysers,  and  after  nine 
miles  of  almost  level  road  from  Calistoga  along 
through  the  Napa  Valley  to  its  upper  end,  then 
through  Knight's  Valley,  reached  by  climbing 
over  a  ridge  separating  it  from  Napa  Valley, 
and  of  the  same  fertile  and  level  soil,  and  said 
to  be  worth  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre  for 
farming  purposes,  we  began  the  ascent  of  the 
mountain  ten  miles  to  the  summit,  thirty-two 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  thence  down  to  the 
Pluton,  the  stream  on  which  the  Geysers  are, 
six  miles,  descending  in  that  distance  seventeen 
hundred  feet.  The  views  up  and  down  are 
broad  and  grand. 

March  igf/i.  —  Was  awakened  at  half-past  five 
to  visit  the  Geysers.  Started  with  guide  and  four 
others.  The  F^luton,  a  clear  mountain  stream, 
flows  down  a  canon  of  steep  walls,  three  hun- 
dred and   fifty  feet  deep  in  places,  but  with  a 


A    TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      1 37 

wide,  level  bank  on  the  south,  where  the  Geyser 
Hotel  stands.  It  here  flows  to  the  north-west, 
and  contracting  its  banks  again  into  a  deep  canon, 
goes  on  for  sixteen  miles  to  Cloverdale,  and 
loses  itself  in  the  Russian  River.  Just  opposite 
the  hotel  a  narrow  ravine  opens  from  the  stream 
almost  at  right  angles  and  runs  a  little  W3.y 
back,  where  it  loses  itself  between  hills  of  crum- 
bled, pasty  rock,  bare  of  all  vegetation,  streaked 
in  dull  yellow,  red  and  gray,  and  having  a 
general  appearance  of  having  been  pulverized 
and  worked  over  and  over.  Crossing  the 
Pluton  by  going  through  a  bathing-house, 
where  natural  hot  sulphur  vapor  baths  are  given, 
we  entered  this  ravine  and  found  ourselves  at 
once  in  what  easily  seemed  to  me  a  sort  of  dev- 
il's kitchen,  getting  ready  for  breakfast.  From 
hundreds  of  tiny  fissures  and  holes  on  both 
slopes  of  the  ravine  issued  steam,  here  in  jets  and 
violent  puffs,  and  there  in  slow,  continuous 
threads.  The  uncanny  phenomena  thickened 
as  we  went  on,  until  we  were  soon  in  the  midst 
of  a  diabolical  hissing,  stewing,  boiling,  sputter- 
ing, and  a  cloud  of  steam  charged  w^ith  smells 
befitting. 

Here  is  a  pool  of  stiffish   mud   boiling  slug- 
gishly,  near   by  a   kettle  of  clear  alum- water, 
close  to  it  another  of  soda — these  hollowed  out 
in  a  ledge  breast-high,  as  if  set  in  a  huge  range  ; 
10 


138     A   TDUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

there -a  broad,  circular  pool  of  clear  water  bub- 
bling noisily  in  the  liveliest  agitation,  a  pot  of 
black  fluid  overflowing  near  by,  called  the 
Devil's  Inkstand.  All  was  activity  and  bustle 
below,  as  if  the  Plutonian  cook  had  his  fires 
well  agoing,  and  all  preparations  well  forward. 
A  little  below  the  top  of  the  ravine  on  the  right 
is  a  round  hole  a  foot  in  diameter,  from  which, 
with  an  intermittent,  sharp  bark,  precisely  like 
that  of  a  locomotive  getting  under  way,  rushes 
a  column  of  hot  steam,  and  has  done  so  since 
man  remembers,  night  and  day,  .incessantly. 

Breakfasted,  and  at  eight  began  the  return 
drive  with  Charley  Foss,  four  horses  to  a 
stage  and  seven  passengers.  The  ride  to  the 
summit,  six  miles,  was  interesting,  following 
the  canon  of  the  Pluton.  Six  miles  down  the 
horses  were  changed,  and  I  rode  the  rest  of  the 
way  on  the  box  with  Foss,  a  fine,  manly  man 
who  takes  his  father's  place  as  whip,  and  is  now 
among  the  few  remaining  great  ones.  The  way 
he  handles  four  horses  is  a  fine  art.  They  are 
[)arts  oi  himself,  a  sort  of  increase  and  exten- 
sion of  his  own  organs,  as  it  were,  moving  obe- 
diently to  his  volition.  Like  everything  else 
that  is  thoroughly  well  done,  his  driving  seems 
simple  and  easy  as  you  confine  your  attention 
to  it  alone  ;  but  when  one  notices  that  the 
road-bed  all  the  way  is  no  more  than  a  shelf 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.      1 39 

high  up  the  winding  side  of  the  mountain, 
formed  by  excavating  and  blasting  out  a  notch 
in  its  abrupt  face  ;  that  below  is  a  precipice 
hundreds  of  feet  down,  and  above  the  sheer  wall 
of  the  cut  for  the  road  ;  that  this  road  winds 
and  twists  into  turns  so  sharp  as  to  be  called 
the  "  hairpin"  and  other  fit  names  ;  that  only  in 
a  few  places  could  two  wagons  pass  each  other 
by  any  means  ;  that  we  go  on  the  full  run  out 
on  a  bold  promontory  and  seem  about  to  gallop 
off  into  space  and  strike  terra  firma  a  half  mile 
dov/n  ;  that  just  as  one  shuts  his  eyes  and  holds 
his  breath  for  the  leap  the  leaders  swing  round 
the  point  of  a  crag,  and  with  a  "  Steady  there, 
Dick,"  we  are  bowling  along  and  down  the 
side  of  the  projection — one  realizes  the  nerve, 
skill  and  training  of  man  and  beast. 

Foss  holds  almost  human  relations  with  his 
horses.  They  understand  every  intonation  of 
his  voice,  every  difference  in  his  touch  of  rein. 
He  holds  conversation  with  them,  cracks  jokes 
w4th  them,  and  they  seem  half  to  understand 
and  to  be  in  hearty  sympathy  with  his  moods. 
"  What  is  the  matter,  old  Sweet  Sixteen?"  to 
his  nigh  wheeler,  as  he  struck  soonest  into  a 
gallop,  "  are  you  red-hot  this  morning?"  and 
he  caressed  him  with  a  soft  down  brush  of  the 
doubled  lash,  laughing  heartily  with  the  tough  ht- 
tle  fellow  whom  he  had  driven  for  twelve  vears. 


140     A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

At  Calistoga,  Foss  asked  me  to  his  rooms 
close  bv  his  large,  well-kept  stables,  where  he 
lives  alone  since  his  wife  died  last  December, 
leaving  him  a  pretty  little  daughter  whose  pic- 
ture he  showed  me  with  pride.  He  gave  me  a 
photograph  of  his  father,  who  looks  fit  to  be  on 
the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  promised 
to  send  me  one  of  himself  when  he  has  more 
taken.  He  would  not  accept  any  money,  and 
when  I  insisted  on  leaving  a  silver  dollar  on 
the  table  ''  To  buy  the  little  girl  a  ribbon,"  he 
consented  with  the  manner  of  a  man  who  is  not 
satisfied  with  himself.  A  manly  man,  with 
much  mountain  wisdom  and  the  instincts  of  a 
gentleman. 

Reached  'Frisco  at  half-past  six  and  found 
wife  and  family  well  situated  at  the  Palace 
Hotel,  in  rooms  such  as  were  promised  by  the 
Itinerary.  In  the  evening  took  them  partly 
through  Chinatown,  visited  the  theatre,  drug- 
store, grocery,  and  had  tea  in  the  best  restaurant 
— a  superb  one  too. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Bound  for  home — Stop  on  our  ivay  at  Sacramento, 
where  zve  are  entertained  by  the  city — Off  again, 
and  after  travelling  through  miles  of  cotmtry  of 
varied  scenery,  change  at  Ogden,  and  enter  Salt 
Lake  City — Description  of  the  city,  and  a  fezv 
words  about  the  Mormons  and  their  peculiar  in- 
stitutions. 

March  '^oth. — At  noon  left  for  home  by  the 
Central  Pacific  in  a  special  train  of  ten  Pullman 
cars.  We  have  a  hotel  car  and  all  in  it  were  of 
our  party  to  Mexico.  The  whole  party  consists 
of  about  two  hundred,  made  up  of  parts  of  sev- 
eral excursions  collected  in  California.  We  left 
here  earlier  than  usual,  to  be  entertained  by  the 
city  of  Sacramento,  ninety  miles  distant,  where 
we  found  waiting  at  the  station  vehicles  enough 
of  one  sort  and  another  to  take  us  all  about  the 
city.  To  our  lot  fell  a  high  and  long  express- 
wagon,  into  which  two  seats  had  been  put 
lengthwise,  and  enough  getting  in  to  pretty  well 
fill  up,  we  joined  one  of  the  processions  the 
whole  had  split  into,  and  so  went  about,  much 
to  the  joy  of  groups  of  boys  who  collected  in 
advance  of  our  coming  all  along  the  route  and 


142     A   TOUR   IX    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

cheered  and  cried  out  encouragingly  and  whoop- 
ed and  executed  wild  and  frenzied  dances,  after 
the  manner  of  the  small  boy  when  the  neighbor- 
hood of  his  residence  is  invaded  by  any  ex- 
traordinary spectacle. 

As  we  rode  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  by  the  time 
we  reached  the  Cemetery  we  vv^ere  so  overlaid 
with  it  that  "  earth  to  earth"  might  have  been 
spoken  over  us  had  a  priest  been  present  in  this 
dismal  spot,  where  the  big  square  lots  are  built 
up  above  the  alleyways  and  curbed  round  with 
brick.  The  monuments  are  of  the  usual  dreary 
sort,  but  Mark  Hopkins,  who  is  buried  here, 
has  a  fine  tomb  in  the  form  of  a  huge,  ancient 
sarcophagus  built  of  Scotch  or  Tennessee  gran- 
ite. His  widow  opens  her  house  here  to  the 
public,  who  may  come  and  see  a  gallery  of  paint- 
ings said,  by  the  Sacramento  Record  Union,  to 
be  the  finest  in  the  country.  They  are  a  poor 
lot,  without  one  of  the  first  or  many  of  the  sec- 
ond order,  and  would  seem  to  be  the  cullings  of 
the  Hopkins  Gallery  as  it  grew  under  the  im- 
proving taste  and  fortune  of  the  millionaire, 
who  was  in  the  early  time  here  the  partner  oi 
D.  C.  Huntington  in  a  hardware-store.  The 
old  sign  is  said  to  be  still  in  the  old  place.  The 
brothers  Crocker  were  also  here  at  that  time  in 
the  dry-goods  trade,  and  Leland  Stanford,  too, 
in  tlie  grocerv  business.      It  is  said  they  used  to 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.      I43 

get  together,  in  the  long,  dull  evenhigs,  in  each 
other's  stores,  and  talk  about  a  railroad  to  the 
East,  until  the  notion  took  form,  and  with  great 
nerve  and  skill  they  built  the  Central  Pacific. 

We  lodged  in  our  car  at  the  station,  and  after 
dining  there  and  clearing  off  the  dust,  went  in 
the  more  humble  way  of  a  street-car — still  at  the 
expense  of  the  city— to  the  State  Capitol,  which 
we  found  shining  inside  and  out  with  electric 
light,  and  a  good  band  discoursing  from  a  stand 
on  the  turf  by  the  main  entrance.  A  committee 
took  a  good  deal  of  civil  pains  in  showing  us 
over  the  building,  a  convenient  one,  with  large, 
commodious,  well-proportioned  rooms,  and  said 
to  have  cost  the  State  $2,500,000, 

Sacram^ento  has  27,000  population,  is  fairly 
built,  and  has  a  prosperous  appearance,  with 
a  subdued  air,  as  if  a  little  fallen  from  some 
previous  state  of  greater  prosperity.  It  is  said 
to  be  malarial,  and  its  low  situation  would  seem 
to  indicate  this.  It  is  the  centre  of  a  magnifi- 
cent country,  the  great  valley  of  the  Sacramento 
River  stretching  away  on  every  hand  as  we 
came  along,  fertile  and  teeming  like  the  richest 
of  Western  prairies. 

MarcJi  ^\st. — Left  Sacramento  at  seven  a.m., 
and  after  crossing  the  American  River,  climbed 
the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  crossing  b}^  a 
pass  seven  thousand  feet  high,  through  "  Gold 


144     A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

Run"  and  "  Dutch  Flat,"  little,  squalid  mining 
hamlets  left  stranded  by  the  retreating  tide  of 
mining  fortunes,  round  Cape  Horn,  where  there 
is  a  fine  view  two  thousand  feet  sheer  down  to 
the  American  River  winding  through  its  gorges. 
The  scenery  all  along  is  fine  and  onl}^  surpassed 
by  that  on_the  line  of  the  Mexican  National  on 
the  way  down  to  Vera  Cruz.  Near  the  little 
station  of  Bronco  we  cross  the  Nevada  line  and 
traverse  that  State  for  four  hundred  and  fifty 
miles.  The  greater  part  of  the  way  is  over  a 
desert  plain  where  nothing  grows  but  the  wild 
sage,  where  no  water  is  nor  can  be  unless  from 
artesian  wells  bored  at  too  great  cost  for  private 
enterprise — as  desolate  and  barren  as  auA'thing 
in  Mexico  or  Arizona.  Just  east  of  Tacoma, 
seven  hundred  miles  from  San  Francisco,  we 
enter  Utah,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  further 
on  reach  Ogden  at  7  a.m. 

April  2d. — Change  at  Ogden  to  the  narrow- 
gauge  track  of  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande, 
down  through  the  fertile  valley  of  Salt  Lake  to 
Salt  Lake  Cit}^  in  full  view  of  the  lake  and  the 
high,  snow-covered  mountains  of  the  Wahsatch 
range,  and  are  comfortably  lodged  at  the 
Walker  House  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

April  2d. — The  city  of  Salt  Lake  is  situated  in 
a  basin  of  the  same  name — all  at  one  time,  it  is 
probable,  a  salt  lake  or  sea,  now  dry  and  fertile 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      I45 

land,  except  Salt  Lake — called  by  the  Mormons 
the  Dead  Sea — without  outlet,  of  about  three 
thousand  square  miles  and  twenty-two  per  cent 
of  salt  in  the  water.  The  Jordan,  a  consider- 
able fresh-water  stream,  taking  its  rise  in  Utah 
Lake,  called  by  the  Mormons  the  Lake  of  Gali- 
lee, twenty-two  miles  south  of  the  cit}^,  dis- 
charges into  it,  and  there  are  others,  so  that  it 
is  constantly  fed  by  a  great  quantity  of  fresh 
water,  and,  so  far  as  is  known,  the  onl}^  escape 
for  it  is  by  evaporation.  The  city  is  located 
some  ten  miles  from  the  head  of  the  lake  on  a 
plain,  but  rising  to  the  northeast  by  a  gentle  de- 
clivity, with  many  private  residences,  the  busi- 
ness portion  being  on  the  nearly  level  land. 
There  is  descent  enough,  however,  for  rivulets 
of  cool,  fresh  mountain  water  to  run  down  the 
gutters  of  the  streets  in  such  volume  as  affords 
a  constant  refreshment  to  the  eye. 

The  city  is  handsomely  laid  out  in  streets  at 
right  angles,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  wide, 
and  while  the  population  does  not  exceed  thirty 
thousand,  covers,  I  should  sa3^  one  third  the 
space  of  Mexico  with  its  population  of  nearly 
three  hundred  thousand.  This  size  comes  not 
only  from  the  great  width  of  the  streets,  but 
still  more  from  the  number  of  small,  comfort- 
able houses,  standing  commonly  each  with  a  bit 
of  land  about  it  ;  so  that,  I  should  say,  the  peo- 


146     A   TOUR    IX    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

pie  arc  as  comfortably  housed  as  in  any  town  I 
know. 

The  business  part  is  fairly  well  and  solidly 
built,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  good  trade  in  a 
jobbing  way.  The  Mormons,  who  are  four 
fifths  of  the  whole  population,  have  their  own 
co-operative  store,  where  they  buy  at  retail— a 
mercantile  establishment  of  all  kinds  of  mer- 
chandise on  a  great  scale,  like  that  of  Loeser  in 
Brooklyn. 

The  Walker  is  a  very  good  hotel,  with  nearly 
as  good  cooking  as  we  have  found  since  leaving 
home.  P.M.  rode  about  the  city.  To  the  west 
are  the  lofty,  serrated  tops  of  the  Oquirrh,  and 
to  the  east  and  south  the  Wahsatch  range,  all 
well  covered  with  snow  now  and  will  be  until 
midsummer.  A  hundred  miles  away  to  the 
south  rises  in  the  clear  air  the  cone  of  Mount 
Nebo,  twelve  thousand  feet,  and  the  site  of  Salt 
Lake  is  made  noble  and  impressive  by  the  giant 
mountain  forms  all  about.  Two  miles  east  of 
the  city  is  Camp  Douglas,  where  our  paternal 
Government  maintains  a  regiment  of  infantry 
and  some  force  of  artillery,  and  half  a  mile  south 
of  this  debouches  into  the  plain  the  canon 
whence  issued  the  frenzied  hordes  of  gold- 
seekers  who,  pouring  into  California  in  '49, 
reached  this  smiling  valley  destitute,  famished 
and    travel -worn    from   their   dreadful    journey 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA.      I47 

overland.  I  thought  of  the  little  company  of  my 
schoolmates  who  set  out  so  hopefully  from  Kal- 
amazoo County,  Mich.,  and  struggled  through 
with  ox-teams  and  canvas-covered  wagons — a 
great  trial  of  human  endurance. 

Visited  the  Mormon  Assembl}^  House,  in- 
tended for  worship  in  the  winter,  and  had  an 
outside  view  of  the  celebrated  or  notorious  En- 
dowment House,  where,  as  our  driver  said, 
"  all  the  Mormon  deviltry  is  concocted."  This 
is  an  unpretentious,  low  stone  house  in  the  cor- 
ner of  a  high- walled  enclosure  and  has  an  inno- 
cent, modest,  retiring  look.  The  Bee  Hive, 
where  Brigham  Young  transacted  the  business 
of  the  great  organization  of  which  he  was  the 
ablest  head,  is  a  plain  brick  building  and  stands 
next  the  Lion  House,  so  called  from  a  gilded 
lion  over  the  door,  where  he  lived  with  a  cer- 
tain number  of  his  many  wives.  The  new  Tem- 
ple, now  and  for  many  years  building,  is  far 
from  complete.  It  is  of  a  nondescript  style  of 
architecture,  but  will  have  the  impressiveness 
belonging  to  bulk,  with  its  walls  a  hundred  feet 
high  and  nine  feet  thick,  flanked  with  towers. 
The  material  is  a  beautiful  white  granite  with 
specks  of  black. 

In  the  evening  attended  a  minstrel  perform- 
ance in  a  theatre  of  about  the  capacity,  style 
of  finish  and  ornament  of  the  Brooklyn  Theatre. 


148     A   TOUR    IX    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

On  the  way  to  it  a  breeze  sprang  up,  and  all  the 
air  was  full  of  dust — blinding,  all-pervading. 
Through  all  this  part  of  the  world  dust  is  one  of 
the  plagues,  serious  to  strangers,  and  borne  by 
the  residents  as  a  remediless  evil. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

A  bcaiUifiil  morning — Attend  service  in  the  Con- 
gregational CJmrcJi — Liberty  of  speecJi  and  some 
specimens — A  visit  to  the  Tabernacle —  We  de- 
scribe its  services,  and  make  a  fezv  observations 
on  polygamy  and  shozv  Jioiv  it  can  be  abolished. 

April  yi. — Beautiful  morning,  mild  and  sunny, 
like  our  mid- May  mornings.  Attended  a  ser- 
vice in  the  Congregational  Church,  some  sixty 
being  present,  a  congregation  fully  up  in  ap- 
pearance to  those  of  towns  of  this  size  at  the 
East.  The  clergyman  seemed  to  think  he  had 
a  call  to  speak  of  the  town  both  in  his  prayer 
and  sermon  as  a  **  sink  of  iniquity,"  a  "rotten 
Gomorrah/ '  etc.  Our  driver  of  yesterday  used 
great  license  of  speech  relative  to  the  Saints, 
saying,  among  other  things,  "  We  have  got 
more'n  a  hundred  of  'em  in  the  Penitentiary  and 
are  hunting  for  more  ;"  and  a  druggist,  while 
preparing  me  a  prescription,  took  time  to  give 
as  answer  to  my  question  about  the  population 
of  the  city  that  there  were  resident  therein 
"  about  five  thousand  people  and  twenty-five 
thousand  beasts."  One  would  infer  that  the 
Gentiles  said  their  say  in  a  city  where  they  are 


150     A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

not  compelled  to  come,  and  where  they  are 
certainly  not  welcome  ;  but  their  leading-  morn- 
ing daily  has  an  editorial  this  morning  demand- 
ing, among  other  things,  "  more  liberty  of 
speech,"  and  this  on  a  page  containing  many 
"  hard  sayings"  anent  the  Saints.  One  feels  a 
languid  interest  in  having  this  editor  define 
"  liberty  of  speech." 

P.M.  attended  services  in  the  Tabernacle,  an 
enormous  auditorium  with  a  curved  roof,  like  a 
turtle's  upper  shell,  resting  on  outside  pillars. 
The  interior  is  plain  to  bareness,  but  admirably 
adapted  to  the  meeting  of  the  vast  congregation 
of  the  Saints,  having  seats  for  twelve  thousand. 
At  one  end  stands  a  great  organ,  said  to  be  the 
largest  in  the  United  States,  manufactured  here 
by  Mormon  workmen.  Below  this  are  ranged 
in  degrees  the  various  orders  of  the  Mormon 
hierarchy,  and  before  them  stretches  the  vast 
expanse  of  the  hall,  with  a  wide  gallery  running 
round  three  sides.  The  acoustic  properties  are 
excellent,  and  the  words  of  any  one  speaking  in 
an  ordinary  tone  of  voice  can  be  well  heard  any- 
where in  it.  I  estimate  the  cons^re^ation  to-dav 
at  nine  thousand.  It  was  composed  of  the  plain- 
est and  humblest  folk,  men  and  women  gath- 
ered here  from  many  lands  out  of  the  lower,  if 
not  lowest,  walks  of  life  at  home,  faces  and 
forms   where    hereditary    want   and    ignorance 


A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNTA.      151 

have  set  deep  marks,  and  toil  and  care  have 
worn  away  grace  and  beauty.  They  were  of 
many  nationalities,  Norwegians,  EngUsh,  Welsh, 
Dutch,  with  a  sprinkling  of  all  others,  not  a 
great  many  Americans,  and,  I  should  say,  fewest 
Irish  of  any. 

It  was  communion  da3^  and,  standing  before 
a  long  table,  ten  bishops  took  some  time  in 
breaking  bread  sufficient  for  so  great  a  body  of 
communicants  ;  and  then,  after  a  short  blessing, 
asked  in  apt  words  by  the  oldest  of  the  ten,  a 
great  number  of  young  men  were  sent  about 
with  the  holy  emblem.  Meanwhile  a  young 
elder  had  taken  the  preacher's  desk,  and  now 
began  a  sort  of  "  deliverance,"  speaking,  as  he 
said,  according  to  the  promptings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  within  him.  Indeed,  they  have  no  regu- 
lar and  ordained  clergymen  for  their  stated  ser- 
vices, but  any  one,  be  he  of  the  priesthood  or 
laity,  is  at  liberty  to  "  take  up  his  testimony" 
when  moved  thereto  by  an  inward  impulse. 
The  young  man  who  now  asked  the  attention 
of  the  hushed  assembly  began  in  a  low  tone, 
with  humble  manner  and  hesitating  speech,  but 
grew  bolder  as  the  Spirit  gave  him  confidence, 
and  after  reciting  some  of  the  trials  he  had  un- 
dergone as  a  missionary  in  some  of  the  South- 
ern States,  he  fervidly  declared  the  triumph  of 
the  Church  of  Latter  Day  Saints  to  be  nigh,  and 


152     A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO    AND   CALIFORNIA. 

exhorted  all  his  brethren  to  bear  with  patience 
and  forbearance,  yea  with  joy,  the  persecutions 
they  must  needs  endure  at  tlie  hands  of  the  Gen- 
tile despisers  of  God  and  His  true  Church.  He 
was  followed  by  another  young  man  in  even  a 
more  fiery  strain,  to  the  same  purpose  ;  and 
when  lie  had  finished,  after  a  blessing  on  the 
cup,  in  which  was  \\:ater  and  not  wine,  and  this 
had  been  started  on  its  way  in  many  huge  gob- 
lets, an  older  and  more  seasoned  elder  took  the 
pulpit  and  set  forth  the  main  tenets  of  the 
Church,  without  once  mentioning  polygamy. 

From  him  and  elsewhere  I  gather  that  they 
are  full  believers  in  the  inspiration  of  the  entire 
Bible,  that  they  are  Trinitarians,  believe  in  the 
Redemption — in  brief,  would  be  called  orthodox 
by  most  of  the  dissenting  churches,  up  to  an 
advanced  point.  But  beyond  this,  they  hold, 
somewhat  like  the  Irvingites  and  the  so-called 
Catholic  Apostolic  Church,  that  in  these  latter 
times  God  is  revealing  Himself  anew  in  fresh 
signs  and  wonders,  as  in  the  days  of  the  early 
Church,  and,  more,  that  He  has  made  a  further 
revelation  of  His  will  in  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
that  Joseph  Smith  was  an  inspired  prophet,  and 
that  from  his  advent  until  now  His  will  is  re- 
vealed through  the  divinely  chosen  head  of  the 
Mormon  Church.  They  also  hold  that  polyg- 
amy,  or  a  plurality  of   wives,  is  ordained,  al- 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.      1 53 

though  this  was  not  revealed  in  the  Book  of 
Mormon. 

I  was  much  entertained  with  the  manner  in 
which  the  last  speaker  used  texts  of  Scripture 
to  support  his  views,  and  found  a  fresh  proof  of 
the  fact  that  almost  any  system  of  morals  or 
faith  can  be  bolstered  by  passages  of  the  Bible, 
separated  from  the  content.  The  Mormon 
teachers  are  dabsters  at  this  sort  of  argument, 
are  well  versed  in  the  Scriptures,  and  the  Gen- 
tile must  be  well  grounded  and  equipped  at  all 
points  if  he  proposes  to  undertake  a  discussion 
with  them  ;  as  the  versatile  and  over-confident 
Rev.  J.  P.  Newman  found,  when,  in  1870,  he 
cantered  out  here  and  discussed  the  question, 
"  Does  the  Bible  sanction  Polygamy  ?"  with  the 
wily  Orson  Pratt. 

The  speakers  to-day  were  narrow,  illiterate 
men,  and  their  labored  reasonings  from  the 
Bible  and  their  expositions  of  particular  texts 
were  dreary  in  the  extreme,  as  all  such  preach- 
ments are  from  whatever  pulpit,  but  their  faith 
and  trust  in  the  tenets  of  their  Church,  and  their 
zeal,  equal  to  much  suffering,  if  not  martyrdom,, 
was  apparent.  Meantime,  what  thoughts  are  in 
the  minds  of  the  silent  bishops  sitting  in  a  row 
and  apparently  all  intent  on  the  preaching  ? 
They  have  the  appearance  of  an  able  body  of 
men,  mentally  and  physically,  and  the  worldly 
II 


154     A   TOUR   IX    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA. 

wisdom  with  which  the  temporal  affairs  of  this 
great  organization  is  conducted  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned. 

As  one  sits  in  this  ureat  consfresfation  of  sim- 
pie  and  conhding  believers  and  looks  on  the 
strong  faces  of  these  spiritual  and  temporal 
rulers,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  they  are 
honest  in  professiiTg  to  think  that  the  Book  of 
jNIormon  is  a  divine  revelation  or  that  the  com- 
mand to  take  more  wives  than  one  is  not  a 
priestl}^  contrivance  for  the  safe  indulgence  of 
lust.  But  who  can  fathom  the  human  heart  or 
fix  limits  to  its  credulity  ?  Do  we  not  constantly 
see  men  of  superior  minds  honestly  holding 
creeds  and  practices  abhorrent  to  the  average 
sense  of  mankind  ?  Whether  honestly  or  not, 
it  is  true  that  many  of  the  heads  of  the  Church 
and  the  more  prosperous  of  the  laity  do  have 
more  than  one  wife.  A  great  many  houses 
were  pointed  out  to  me  where  it  was  said  plural 
wives  lived,  each  in  her  own  establishment,  and 
the  names  of  several  bishops  and  prominent 
leaders  were  given  in  connection  with  these — in 
one  case  to  the  number  of  eleven.  I  noticed 
that  these  particular  domiciles  were  painted 
each  a  different  color,  and  was  told  this  is  the 
custom,  and  affords  the  means  of  distinguishing 
them  from  each  other.  One  can  understand 
that  a  deeply  bibulous  Saint  returning  at  a  late 


A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.      I 


55 


hour  to  the  domicile  most  likely  to  receive  him 
leniently  might  find  this  distinction  of  color  a 
convenience,  but  as  they  claim  to  have  in  all  the 
city  no  drinking-place  kept  or  frequented  by 
Mormons,  there  must  be  some  other  reason  for 
this  diversity. 

What  happiness  and  what  misery  are  in  these 
alliances  must  to  the  outside  world  be  largely  a 
matter  of  conjecture  ;    but,  as  human  naUire  is 
constituted    and    trained    in    nations    of    Saxon 
origin   which   have  never  tolerated  polygamy, 
one  cannot  help  thinking  it  a  system  of  coarse 
degradation,  especially  to  the  women  involved 
in  it.      It  is  said  that  most  of  these  plural  wives 
were  poor,  hard-working  women  with  no  pros- 
pects in  hfe,  to  whom  the  shelter  and  protection 
afforded   them   by  a  well-to-do  man,  under  the 
sanction  of  a  sort  of  marriage,  are  sufficient  to 
yield   as    much  satisfaction  in  this  life  as  they 
may  hope  for  in  any  other  way.     But  these  re- 
lations will   certainly  not   be  permitted  to  con- 
tmue.     The     indignation     of     the    country     is 
roused,  and  the  clamor  against  polygamy,  raised 
often  by  men  whose  own  practices  are  equally 
blameworthy,  is  embodied  in  the  Edmunds  law 
now  being  vigorously  enforced,  and  it  is  hard 
to  see  how  the  Saints  can  continue  to  bear  up 
against  the  disabilities  they  are  under. 
.     It  illustrates  the  constancy  of  woman  that  it 


156     A   TOUR    IX    MEXICO   AXD   CALIFORNIA. 

is  rare  lor  one  of  the  wives  to  testif}'  against  her 
husband,  so  that  bigamy  is  not  so  easily  proven 
as  one  would  expect.  Still,  a  large  number 
have  been  convicted  and  imprisoned  and  heav- 
ily fined.  The  wisest  course  would  seem  to  be 
to  abandon  polygamy,  which  would  settle  the 
whole  difficulty,  and  is  easy  to  do,  because  as 
it  was  originally  ordained  by  one  special  reve- 
lation so  it  may  be  abrogated  by  another.  But, 
as  always  and  everywhere,  persecution  only 
confirms  belief  among  the  persecuted,  so  that 
what  was  for  the  most  part  only  a  convenient 
practice  becomes  exalted  into  an  article  of  faith 
lield  more  and  more  tenaciously  as  afflictions  in- 
crease by  reason  of  it. 

One  cannot  withhold  a  certain  sympathy  and 
pity  for  this  people,  who,  having  endured  much 
for  conscience'  sake  as  we  must  think,  are  in 
danger  of  being  driven  from  this  goodly  re- 
treat, where,  under  a  wise  and  just  polity  in 
many  essential  respects,  they  have  thriven  well, 
and,  so  far  as  this  life  at  least  is  concerned, 
greatly  benefited  their  condition. 

There  can  be  no  question  of  the  ability  of 
Brigham  Young  as  an  organiser  of  men.  He 
was  a  man  of  striking  ability,  and  in  ruder  times, 
when  individuality  counted  for  more  than  now, 
and  in  a  more  superstitious  age  when  Mahomets 
were  possible,  this  strenuous  Vermonter  would 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.      1 57 

have  been  a  power  in  the  world.  He  is  buried 
in  a  plainly  enclosed  field  of  several  acres,  in  a 
coffin  said  to  be  wide  enough  for  him  to  turn 
and  rest  himself  in  his  long  sleep,  for  he  gave  it 
to  be  understood  that  he  has  only  withdrawn 
himself  from  his  followers  for  a  term  of  vears. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Leave  Salt  Lake  City  for  L^rovo — Castle  Gate  and 
Cliffs — Pass  through  Gunnison  and  eross  the 
Rocky  JSLonntains — Vieiv  the  wonders  of  the 
Grand  Cafion  of  the  Arkansas — ULanitou  Sp7'ings 

—  The  '*  Garden  of  the  Gods  " — The  grave  of 
Helen  LLunt — Denver — The  mining  regions — 
Meet  ivith  a  railroad  accident — A  luait,  zvhen  we 
have  time  to  see  the  antics  of  a''  bucking  broncho  ' 

—  Off  again — Nearing  home— Pleasant  cogita- 
tions— LLome  at  last. 

April  \th.—\.Q{t  Salt  Lake  at  lo  A.M.  by  the 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  going  up  the  valley  of 
the  Jordan  to  the  Mormon  town  of  Provo,  fifty 
miles  south  on  the  shore  of  the  beautiful  Lake 
Utah,  and,  turning  eastward,  follow  the  Span- 
ish Fork  and  Clear  Creek  to  Soldier  Summit,  a 
low  pass  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Wahsatch 
range.  Provo,  where  we  lunched,  is  forty-five 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  and  at  Soldier  Sum- 
mit, forty-five  miles  beyond,  the  elevation  is 
seventy-four  hundred  feet,  or  thirty-two  hun- 
dred feet  above  Salt  Lake  City.  There  is  nota- 
ble scenery  along  the  Spanish  Fork  Canon,  and 
at  tlie  summit  of  the  pass.  Mount  Nebo,  one  of 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      1 59 

the  loftiest  peaks  of  the  Wahsatch  range,  is  seen 
to  lift  its  snowy  top  twelve  thousand  feet  high. 
Twenty-two  miles  from  the  top  of  the  pass 
are  remarkable  cliffs,  called  the  Castle  Gate, 
forming  the  entrance  to  Castle  Canon,  along 
which,  on  either  hand,  rise  huge  walls  of  red 
sandstone  in  startling  Hkeness  of  castle  walls 
with  rounded  towers  and  battlements,  topped, 
in  many  instances,  with  layers  of  white  sand- 
stone, as  if  built  by  the  skilful  hands  of  giant 
masons. 

Took  supper  at  Green  River,  and, 
April  ^th,  breakfasted  at  Cimarron  and  en- 
tered upon  the  famous  Black  Canon  of  the  Gun- 
nison. For  nine  miles  the  road  lies  between 
steep,  towering  walls  of  rock  from  one  to  two 
thousand  feet  high.  There  are  several  trans- 
verse ravines  coming  in,  with  scarcely  less  im- 
posing vie^vs,  and  frequent  cascades.  At  one 
point  of  intersection  of  two  gorges  is  a  single 
detached  tower  called  the  Currecanti  Needle, 
nearly  a  thousand  feet  high. 

Passed  through  the  mining  town  of  Gunnison, 
and  lunched  at  Sargent,  then  climbed  the  main 
range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Marshall  Pass, 
10,180  feet  above  the  sea,  the  train  being  di- 
vided into  two  sections,  each  with  two  engines, 
as  the  grade  in  places  is  over  two  hundred  feet 
to  the  mile.     The  train    passes  under  nineteen 


l6o     A   TOUR   IN   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

long  snow-sheds,  said  to  cover  forty  miles  of 
the  track,  before  reaching  the  summit,  where 
the  track  is  also  under  cover,  and  in  descend- 
ing, at  one  point,  after  going  five  miles,  the 
train  is  just  opposite  its  former  position  and  one 
thousand  feet  below  it.  The  views,  both  up 
and  down,  are  indescribably  grand,  including  a 
near  one  of  Mount  Ouray,  fourteen  thousand 
feet  high,  the  snowy  domes  of  the  Cochetopa 
range,  from  ten  to  thirteen  thousand  feet,  and 
the  lofty  snow  pinnacles  of  the  Sangrede  Cristo 
range.  Reaching  the  bottom  through  the  Pancho 
Pass,  we  come  to  Salida,  a  brand-new  town  of 
some  three  thousand  population  on  the  Arkan- 
sas River,  with  aspirations  and  a  good  hotel. 
We  pass  an  uncomfortable  night  there  in  oui" 
Pullman-sleeper,  and, 

April  6th,  after  an  early  breakfast,  enter  on 
the  wonderful  scener}-  of  the  Grand  Canon  of 
the  Arkansas.  Here  is  shown  the  prodigious 
power  of  water  in  shaping  the  configuration  of 
the  earth's  surface,  where  lofty  mountains  of 
rock  are  cut  sheer  down  a  thousand  feet  b}^  it. 
At  a  passage  called  the  Royal  Gorge  there  is 
not  room  enough  for  both  stream  and  railway 
between  the  solid  and  almost  perpendicular 
walls,  and  one  side  of  the  track  is  supported  by 
rods  hung  to  bars  let  into  the  njcks  on  both 
sides.     Emerging    from    this    awful    chasm    we 


A    TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      l6l 

come  to  Pueblo,  a  smart  town  of  say  twenty 
thousand  population,  where  we  lunch,  and  forty- 
five  miles  beyond  reach  Colorado  Springs, 
whence  a  branch  road  conveys  us  to  Manitou 
Springs  and  the  Barker  House,  four  miles  away. 

Besides  its  situation  in  a  picturesque  ravine  of 
the  Pike's  Peak  range— a  spur  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains — Manitou  has  celebrity  from  its  soda 
springs,  one  of  which  is  specially  fine.  A  mile 
up  a  ravine  is  an  iron  spring  of  delicious  water 
— soda  impregnated  with  iron  in  agreeable  pro- 
portions —  cold  as  ice  water.  There  are  the 
hotels  and  cluster  of  stores  and  cottages  usual 
to  a  young  and  promising  watering-place.  The 
mountains  about  are  cut  deeply  with  numerous 
canons,  and  the  drives  are  specially  interesting. 
At  the  right  of  the  entrance  to  the  canon  where 
the  village  of  Manitou  nestles  are  remarkable 
forms  of  red  sandstone  remaining  from  the  dis- 
integration of  a  mountain,  scattered  in  the  most 
picturesque  way  over  say  a  hundred  acres,  the 
whole  taking  the  name  of  "  The  Garden  of  the 
Gods. ' '  Titanic  shapes  carved  b}^  nature's  hand 
rise  all  about  with  startling  likeness  to  the  fa- 
miliar works  of  man.  The  whole  scene  is  weird 
and  strangely  phantasmal  to  the  border  of  diab- 
lerie and  leaves  an  impression  not  easily  effaced. 

We  went  up  the  Ute  Pass  to  Manitou  Grand 
Caverns,  a  narrow  passage  into  the  side  of  the 


l62     A    TOUR    IX    MKXICO    AM)    CALIFORNIA. 

niDuntciin.  which  enlarges  here  and  there  into 
"greater  spaces,  with  lofty  ceilings,  sometimes 
domed,  showing  vast  and  mysterious  in  the 
dim  light  of  the  lamps.  The  stalactites  are 
small  and  this  cavern  is  insignificant  in  compari- 
son with  many  others  both  in  this  country  and 
in  Europe.  High  up  on  a  cliff  of  the  Cheyenne 
Canon  is  the  grave  of  Helen  Hunt,  the  gifted 
poet,  whose  burning  spirit  loved  the  cooling 
touch  of  nature  here  where  she  was  wont  to 
come  both  for  labor  and  for  rest. 

April  Zth. — Came  to  Denver  by  the  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande  Railroad,  eighty -one  miles. 
Good  rooms  at  the  Windsor.  Denver  is  a  well- 
built  city  of,  as  is  claimed,  seventy  thousand 
population,  has  signs  of  present  and  future  im- 
portance, but  presents  few  objects  to  specially 
interest  the  visitor.  It  has  one  of  the  prettiest 
of  theatres,  where  on  Saturday  evening  we  saw 
Robson  and  Crane  in  "  Merry  Wives  of  Wind- 
sor." Tlie  Windsor  is  an  excellent  hotel.  The 
water  used  is  from  an  artesian  well,  and  I  never 
used  for  drinking  or  bathing  any  I  liked  better. 

The  climate  here  is  said  to  be  mild  and  agree- 
able, although  one  mile  above  the  sea-level. 
wSome  twelve  miles  to  the  westward  extends  from 
north  to  south  for  more  than  two  hundred  miles 
the  Colorado  range  (jf  the  I'iocky  Mountains. 
Away  to  the  south  rises  Pike's  Peak  over  four- 


A   T(3UR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      163 

teen  thousand  feet,  and  to  the  northwest  Grav's 
Peak,  14,440  feet,  and  between  these  two  manv 
another,  the  whole  range  presenting  a  scene  of 
grandeur  and  beauty. 

April  11///.— At  8  A.M.  took  the  train  on 
the  Colorado  Division  of  the  Union  Pacific  up 
Clear  Creek  Canon  to  Golden,  Idaho  Springs, 
Georgetown,  and  Silver  Plume,  a  region 
abounding  in  mines  of  silver,  with  remains  all 
along  the  creek  of  placer-mining.  This  is  an 
old  mining  region,  Georgetown  being  more  than 
thirtv  years  old.  I  shall  hereafter  have  a  more 
definite  notion  of  what  a  man  means  when  he 
says  he  owns  a  silver  mine,  and  that  most  likely 
it  is  a  small  and  nearly  inaccessible  hole  in  the 
side  of  a  savage  mountain  with  a  glorious  un- 
certainty of  what  can  be  found  in  it. 

The  mountain  scenery  all  the  wa}^  up  to 
Georgetown  is  of  the  wildest  and  grandest. 
The  road  climbs  up  the  steep  ascents  and  rounds 
the  abrupt  curves  ni  a  manner  abundantly  testi- 
fying to  the  daring  skill  of  the  engineers  who 
built  it.  At  one  place  it  parallels  itself  three 
times,  crosses  a  bridge  ninety  feet  high  and 
makes  a  complete  loop. 

Returned  to  Denver  and  took  the  train  on  the 
Omaha  and  Denver  Short  Line  of  the  Union 
Pacific  for  home  direct,  having  supper  on  the 
same  hotel-car  we  left  at  Ogden,  the  "  Interna- 


164     A   TOUR    IX    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 

tional."  Wlien  home  again  \vc  should  have 
made  nearly  twelve  thousand  miles  b}^  railroad, 
and  I  hoped  we  might  say  without  any  accident, 
for  so  far  we  had  been  spared  the  most  trivial  ; 
but  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 

April  \2th,  as  we  were  bowling  along  at  a 
great  rate,  I  was  startled  by  a  heavy  bump,  giv- 
ing quite  a  shock,  and  then  all  was  still  except 
the  lessening  whistle  of  the  engine.  Our  car 
Vv'as  the  last  one  of  the  long  train,  and  I  lay 
thinking  that  by  some  means  it  had  become  de- 
tached and  was  left  standing  on  the  track  by  the 
train  whose  receding  whistle  I  was  listening  to 
as  it  tore  away;  but  soon  the  report  came  that 
our  engine  had  collided  with  another  used  in 
the  yard  at  North  Platte,  where  we  w^ere,  wreck-^ 
ing  both  and  killing  the  other  engineer.  It  did 
not  seem  quite  clear  who  was  at  fault,  but  it  was 
pretty  plain  that  he  had  not  observed  a  telegram 
shown  him  and  said  to  have  been  receipted  for 
by  him,  that  our  train — a  special — would  be  at 
the  station  at  the  moment  it  actually  arrived. 
The  two  engines  had  struck  each  other  fairly  in 
the  face  and  were  badly  damaged,  both  plat- 
forms of  the  baggage-car  were  crushed,  without 
injury  to  the  baggage  itself,  the  fcjrward  ])lat- 
form  of  the  first  sleeper— the  whole  train  was 
composed  of  these — somewhat  damaged,  and, 
what  was  of  importance,  since  it  deprived  us  of 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND    CALIFORNIA.      165 

our  meals  aboard  the  car,  the  range  of  the  "  In- 
ternational "  was  so  injured  that  no  cooking 
could  be  done  on  it  until  it  should  go  to  the 
shop  lor  repairs. 

It  was  four  hours  before  we  were  fitted  to  go 
on.  Meantime  we  had  breakfast  at  the  station, 
and  a  chance  to  see  a  new  thing  to  me — a  "  buck- 
ing broncho"  ridden  b}'  a  cowboy.  A  saddle 
was  put  on  his  back  with  some  difficulty,  firmly 
strapped,  and  the  young  fellow  leaped  easily  to 
his  seat,  but  not  to  rest  at  ease.  After  a  mo- 
ment of  painful  suspense  the  animal,  small,  com- 
pact and  tough,  reared  straight  into  the  air  and 
stood  on  his  hind  legs  for  an  instant,  and  then 
throwing  his  forefeet  rapidly  dow^n  to  the 
ground,  at  the  same  instant  flung  his  heels  high 
into  the  air,  and,  with  his  nose  well  down  be- 
tween his  legs,  repeated  these  movements  in  al- 
ternation with  such  velocity  that  the  different 
motions  could  scarcely  be  distinguished,  and  it 
seemed-  impossible  that  any  rider  could  keep 
his  seat.  But  this  one  sat  like  a  centaur  and  al- 
lowed the  broncho  to  exhaust  all  his  tricks,  and 
then  plying  a  savage  whip  compelled  him  into  a 
wild  run  all  the  way  round  an  entire  block  of 
buildings,  a  distance  of  nearly  a  mile,  and 
brought  him  to  the  stable  in  an  apparently  meek 
and  fully  subdued  condition.  But  when  he 
turned  the  broncho's  head  down  the  street  for 


l66     A   TOUR    IN    MEXICO    AND    CALIFORNIA. 

further  exercise,  the  treacherous  beast,  as  if  all 
he  had  done  before  was  mere  prelude,  instantly 
threw  himself  into  a  rapid  series  of  convulsive 
twistings  and  contorted  curvetin^^s,  endini^  by 
falling  heavily  in  what  looked  from  a  distance 
like  an  attempted  somersault,  and  both  horse 
and  man  lay  in  a  motionless  heap.  A  cry  rose 
among  the  spectators  that  the  broncho  had 
broken  his  neck  and  killed  his  rider,  but  after  a 
few  moments  both  horse  and  man  were  disen- 
tangled, and  the  cowboy,  quite  unhurt,  led  the 
now  thoroughly  humbled  beast  into  his  stable 
as  coolly  as  if  nothing  had  taken  place  out  of  the 
ordinary  way. 

A  little  before  noon  we  moved  on  behind  a 
fresh  engine,  traversing  the  level  and  fertile 
plains  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Platte  River, 
a  region  well  watered,  and  capable,  one  would 
think,  of  great  crops,  and  reached  Omaha  at 
dusk.  We  saw  nothing  of  this  prosperous  city 
where  we  ci-ossed  the  broad  Missouri  flowing 
darkly  in  the  dull  light  to  Council  Bluffs. 
Thence  on  again  without  delay,  all  night  long, 
over  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  Rail- 
way, waking, 

April  i^th,  in  central  Iowa,  whose  Hat  plains, 
aboundinic  in  fair  streams  and  the  moisture  left 
by  departing  winter,  showed  soft  in  the  near 
presence  of  full  s])ringtimc,  and  went  far  to  re- 


A   TOUR   IN    MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA.      167 

concile  me  to  the  sharp  vicissitudes  of  our 
northern  climate.  At  Blue  Island  Junction, 
seventeen  miles  from  Chicago,  we  changed  to 
the  Chicago  and  Grand  Trunk  Railway,  through 
South  Bend,  across  Prairie  Ronde,  the  home  of 
my  3'outh,  quite  wrapped  in  darkness,  through 
Lansing  to  Port  Huron,  crossing  the  St.  Clair 
River  there,  thence  to  London,  Canada,  where 
we  breakfasted. 

April  \\th. — Reached  Niagara  Falls  at  11  a.m. 
Passed  several  hours  here  admiring  for  the 
twentieth  time  with  increasing  awe  this  wonder, 
not  eclipsed  by  anything  we  had  seen  in  all  our 
long  journey  among  natural  wonders.  Home 
by  West  Shore  Railway,  running  all  night,  and 
as,  at  waking,  I  lifted  the  curtain  to  m}^  berth 
and  looked  out  on  the  magnificent  Hudson, 
w^hose  waters  and  fair  shores  shone  sweetly  in 
the  mild  rays  of  the  rising  sun,  it  occurred  to 
me  that  those  who  can  live  where  are  scenes 
like  this  are  not  altogether  objects  of  pity  even 
to  the  Southern  Californian,  whose  "  skies  ever 
smile."  Home  to  breakfast  in  Brooklyn,  at 
8  A.M.,  on  15th  April,  just  as  promised  by  the 
Itinerary,  finding  all  well,  but  with  doleful  tales 
of  "  such  an  inclement  spring  as  hardly  ever 
was." 


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